At Rogers Centre on Saturday, the Toronto Blue Jays face the Tampa Bay Rays (three straight victories) at 3:07 PM ET.
The favored Blue Jays (-134 on the moneyline) take the field at home against the Rays (+114). The matchup on the mound for this contest is set with the Toronto Blue Jays looking to Kevin Gausman (2-3), and Zach Eflin (3-4) getting the nod for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tyler Alexander (7.1 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 4 K) earned a win in the Rays’ 4-3 victory over the Blue Jays yesterday. Richard Palacios led the way offensively, going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Chris Bassitt (5.2 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 5 K) was handed the loss for the Blue Jays.
Get ready for the Blue Jays vs. Rays with what you need to know about Saturday’s baseball action, including viewing options.
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays odds and betting lines
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Saturday at 9:16 AM ET. For a full list of Sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
- Favorite: Blue Jays (-134, bet $134 to win $100)
- Underdog: Rays (+114, bet $100 to win $114)
- Over/under: 7.5
Blue Jays vs. Rays: Live streaming info & game time
- Game Day: Saturday, May 18, 2024
- Game Time: 3:07 PM ET
- Stadium: Rogers Centre
- TV Channel: Bally Sports
- Live Stream: Fubo (Watch for free)
Blue Jays stats and trends
Blue Jays betting records
- The Blue Jays have won 14, or 56%, of the 25 games they’ve played as favorites this season.
- Toronto is 5-5 this season when entering a game favored by -134 or more on the moneyline.
- Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Blue Jays have a 57.3% chance to win.
- So far this season, Toronto and its opponents have hit the over in 17 of 43 games with a total.
- The Blue Jays have an ATS record of 19-23-0 in 42 games with a spread this season.
Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays probable starter)
- Gausman gets the start for the Blue Jays, his ninth of the season. He is 2-3 with a 4.95 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings pitched.
- In his last time out on Saturday, the righty went three innings against the Minnesota Twins, giving up six earned runs while surrendering 10 hits.
- The 33-year-old has put up a 4.95 ERA and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings across eight games this season, while giving up a batting average of .298 to his opponents.
- Gausman is trying to secure his third quality start of the season in this game.
- Gausman will try to record his fifth matchup of five or more innings pitched this season. He averages 4.5 innings per appearance.
- He has held his opponents without an earned run in two of his eight outings this season.
- He will face a Rays offense that ranks 18th in the league with 191 runs while batting .242 as a unit. It has a collective .366 slugging percentage (21st in MLB play) and has hit a total of 39 home runs (23rd in MLB).
- Gausman has thrown 4 1/3 innings, giving up one earned run on two hits while striking out six against the Rays this season.
Blue Jays batting stats
- The Blue Jays’ 36 home runs rank 26th in MLB this season.
- Hitters for Toronto have combined to rank 27th in MLB with a slugging percentage of only .356 this season.
- The Blue Jays’ .227 batting average ranks 25th in the league this season.
- Toronto has scored 155 runs (just 3.6 per game) this season, which ranks 29th in MLB.
- The Blue Jays have an OBP of .305 this season, which ranks 18th in MLB.
- Toronto has shown patience at the plate this season with the second-best rate of strikeouts per game (7.2) among MLB offenses.
Rays stats and trends
Rays betting records
- The Rays have been chosen as underdogs in 14 games this year and have walked away with the win seven times (50%) in those games.
- This season, Tampa Bay has been victorious one time in four chances when named as an underdog of at least +114 or longer on the moneyline.
- The Rays have an implied victory probability of 46.7% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
- Tampa Bay and its opponents have gone over the total this season in 24 of its 46 opportunities.
- In 45 games with a line this season, the Rays have a mark of 24-21-0 against the spread.
Zach Eflin (Rays probable starter)
- Eflin gets the start for the Rays, his 10th of the season. He is 3-4 with a 3.91 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings pitched.
- The right-hander’s most recent time out came on Monday against the Boston Red Sox, when he tossed five innings, surrendering three earned runs while allowing six hits.
- The 30-year-old has amassed an ERA of 3.91, with 7.0 strikeouts per nine innings in nine games this season. Opposing batters have a .262 batting average against him.
- Eflin is looking to record his fifth quality start of the year.
- Eflin will try to prolong a 10-game streak of going five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.9 frames per appearance).
- He has had two appearances this season that he held his opponents to zero earned runs.
- The opposing Blue Jays offense has a collective .227 batting average, and is 28th in the league with 316 total hits and 29th in MLB action with 155 runs scored. They have the 27th-ranked slugging percentage (.356) and are 26th in all of MLB with 36 home runs.
- Head-to-head against the Blue Jays this season, Eflin has pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up six earned runs on six hits while striking out five.
- This season, the 30-year-old ranks 50th in ERA (3.91), 37th in WHIP (1.132), and 61st in K/9 (7.0) among qualifying pitchers.
Rays batting stats
- The Rays average 0.8 home runs per game to rank 23rd in MLB action with 39 total home runs .
- So far this season, Tampa Bay ranks 21st in baseball with a .366 slugging percentage.
- The Rays have the 13th-ranked batting average in the majors (.242).
- Tampa Bay scores the 18th-most runs in baseball (191 total, 4.2 per game).
- The Rays rank 12th in baseball with an on-base percentage of .314.
