Our Royals vs. Blue Jays prediction for Wednesday’s matchup comes with plenty of intrigue, as Kansas City enters Rogers Centre riding a nine-game winning streak while Toronto is fighting to keep its fading playoff hopes alive. The Royals rallied for a 5-3 win in Tuesday’s series opener, extending their impressive run to 10-1 over their last 11 games.
Royals vs. Blue Jays prediction
Bobby Witt Jr. over 0.5 walks: +205 best odds @ BET99
Bobby Witt Jr. over 0.5 walks
The Blue Jays clearly had a plan to pitch around Witt Jr. on Tuesday, issuing him two walks in the series opener, and you can bet that plan will remain unchanged with Toronto desperate for a win in the second game of this series.
Witt Jr. has drawn at least one walk in six of his last 10 games and in 40% of games overall this season. That means we’re getting incredible value on this player prop at 33% implied probability (+205), especially considering the game context for Toronto.
Witt Jr.’s walk rate is 10.7% this season, which puts in him the 69th percentile in the majors, and he’s undoubtedly one of the elite hitters in MLB with a .303 xBA (100th percentile) and 51.3% hard-hit rate (94th percentile), so it’s understandable why pitchers routinely pitch around him, when possible.
At +205, wager one unit on Witt Jr. to draw a walk at BET99, which has the best odds on this player prop Wednesday.
Royals vs. Blue Jays odds
| Royals moneyline odds | +135 |
| Blue Jays moneyline odds | -150 |
| Run line odds | Blue Jays -1.5 (+140), Royals +1.5 (-165) |
| Game total | Over 8.5 runs (-120), Under 8.5 runs (+100) |
| Date/time | Aug. 26, 7:07 p.m. ET |
Betting the Royals (59-74 SU, 63-70 ATS, 61-70-2 o/u)
The Royals extended their winning streak to nine games with a 5-3 victory in the series opener Tuesday, their longest winning streak since July 2017. They’ve averaged 6.3 runs per game during the streak with a plus-27 run differential.
Salvador Perez drove in two runs and Seth Lugo pitched five innings of one-run ball to lift KC to the win, although the team is far out of playoff contention.
Despite the team’s very impressive current run, the Royals are averaging just 4.2 runs per game (22nd in MLB) while allowing 4.9 (25th in majors) this season.
Betting the Blue Jays (64-69 SU, 63-70 ATS, 70-61-2 o/u)
The Blue Jays have dropped three of their last four games and are quickly falling out of the playoff picture in the American League, now three games back of the final playoff spot entering play Wednesday. However, the team does still have a roughly 10% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs projections.
Toronto is averaging just 3.9 runs per game (last in the majors), as the roster continues to be ravaged by injuries and plagued by subpar performances from several key players, like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who still hasn’t hit a home run at Rogers Centre yet this season.
Probable starting pitchers
KC: RHP Randy Dobnak (2-1, 1.58 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 5.72 K/9)
The Blue Jays can expect a healthy diet of sinkers when they square off with Dobnak on Wednesday, as the right-hander uses his primary pitch to induce an elite 55.1% ground-ball rate.
Dobnak’s 1.58 ERA jumps off the page ahead of his 10th appearance for the Royals, but his 4.74 xERA suggests he’s due for some regression down the final stretch of the season.
Walks have also been an issue for Dobnak, as he’s issued 10 free passes over his last 19 2/3 innings pitched, leading to a 10.2% walk rate this season.
TOR: RHP Spencer Miles (5-2, 3.02 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 8.18 K/9)
Miles will serve as the opener for Toronto on Wednesday as part of a planned bullpen game. Shane Bieber was the projected starting pitcher, but he’s now landed on the injured list with a teres major strain.
Miles has pitched in all kinds of roles for Toronto this season, including as a starter, bulk guy, and high-leverage arm. However, he’s been most effective out of the bullpen, holding opponents to a .199 batting average and .524 OPS. As a starter, opponents are hitting .333 with an .848 OPS off Miles.
Notable injuries
The following notable players are on the injured list for Kansas City:
- P Carlos Estevez (shoulder)
- P Tony Gonsolin (elbow)
- OF Jac Caglianone (ankle) is day-to-day
- 3B Maikel Garcia (hamstring)
- P James McArthur (elbow)
- P Cole Ragans (elbow)
The following notable players are on the injured list for Toronto:
- OF Addison Barger (elbow)
- RHP José Berríos (elbow)
- RHP Bowden Francis (shoulder)
- OF Anthony Santander (shoulder)
- P Trey Yesavage (knee)
- P Patrick Corbin (shoulder)
- P Cody Ponce (knee)
- P Shane Bieber (shoulder)
Weather
It should be a pleasant evening for outdoor baseball in Toronto, with temperatures expected to reach 22 C and clear skies. Winds will blow out to left field at 10 mph.
Royals vs. Blue Jays betting trends
- Kansas City is 10-1 over its last 11 games.
- The Royals are just 23-44 on the road this season.
- The over is 6-1-1 in Toronto’s last eight games.
- Toronto has hit the F5 team total under in 21 of its last 25 home games.
Royals vs. Blue Jays player prop trends
- Dobnak has struck out three or more batters in six of his last seven starts, averaging 3.2 per start this season. He’s -110 to record over 2.5 strikeouts on Wednesday.
- Perez has hit safely in six straight games and is -175 to extend that streak. He’s slashing .391/.440/.609 with five RBIs over the last seven days.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has walked at least once in six of his last 10 games and in 40% of his games this season. He’s +205 (BET99) to draw a walk on Wednesday.
