TORONTO BLUE JAYS (79-60) at NEW YORK YANKEES (77-61)
The Yankees look to make up ground in the division with a win over the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on Friday.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS (79-60) at NEW YORK YANKEES (77-61)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Toronto -155; New York +140, Total: 7.5
The Blue Jays and Yankees were supposed to start this series on Thursday, but the game was rained out and this is now the opener of a game with serious playoff implications. Toronto currently holds a 1.5-game lead over New York in the AL East and this four-game set can change that drastically. The Blue Jays come into this game as winners of eight of their past 12 games. The Yankees have won eight of their past 12 as well, but they did lose their final two games in a home series against an inferior Orioles team this week.
This game features some great pitching, as LHP David Price (14-5, 2.52 ERA, 196 K) of the Blue Jays will faceoff against RHP Luis Everino (3-2, 2.04 ERA, 34 K) of the Yankees. Toronto has gotten the better of New York in this matchup this season, going 8-4 overall and 5-1 at Yankee Stadium. It’s also worth noting that nine of the 12 games played between the teams have gone Under the total this season. On the year, the Blue Jays are 19-6 against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season. The Yankees, meanwhile, are 10-4 against the money line when facing a poor baserunning team that averages 0.5 or less stolen bases per game this season.
Toronto is relatively healthy entering this game, but New York will be without 1B Mark Teixeira (Shin) for another week or so.
The Blue Jays have been one of the best teams in baseball since acquiring Price. Since getting to Toronto, the ace is 5-1 with a 2.15 ERA and he was brilliant in his most recent start. Price went seven innings against the Orioles and allowed just one earned run on four hits, striking out eight batters in the process. The last time he faced the Yankees was Aug. 14 and he allowed three earned runs in 7.1 innings of work. Price did, however, allow 11 hits in that game and will need to try to keep himself out of trouble on Friday.
One guy that could be eager to bat against Luis Severino in this game is 1B Jose Bautista (.248, 33 HR, 96 RBI). “Joey Bats” went yard against the young New York starter in their last meeting and will need to remember that as he steps up to the plate on Friday. He is 0-for-6 over the past two games and Toronto needs him to be productive with his bat this series.
3B Josh Donaldson (.307, 37 HR, 115 RBI) enters this game on a tear, finishing with three multi-hit games in his past four contests. He has 11 RBI in the past 10 games and is always a threat to put up monster numbers at the plate.
Another guy that can’t be taken lightly is DH Edwin Encarnacion (.269, 30 HR, 95 RBI). The slugger enters this game on a nine-game homerless streak, but he can hit one at any given at bat and his team will be counting on him to break out of this drought soon.
Luis Severino has been brilliant since the Yankees called him up this season. New York was desperate for a decent starting pitcher and Severino has been far more than that. The young flamethrower has allowed one or less earned runs in each of his past three starts, giving up a total of two earned runs in his past 18.1 innings of work. The last time he faced Toronto, Severino struck out nine batters while allowing three earned runs in 6.0 innings. A homer by Jose Bautista was the lone mistake he made and he’ll need to do a better job of avoiding long balls in general, as he’s now allowed one in four of his six starts.
Offensively, the Yankees need to start hitting more consistently. They have scored a total of four runs over the past two games and that just won’t cut it for a team that relies on its bats. One player who has been hot as of late is OF Carlos Beltran (.279, 15 HR, 53 RBI). Beltran was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in a loss to the Orioles last game and has now gotten a hit in eight of the past 10 games.
A few Yankees have had a lot of success against David Price in the past and the guys to really point out are OF Jacoby Ellsbury (.267, 7 HR, 30 RBI), C Brian McCann (.244, 25 HR, 86 RBI) and 3B Chase Headley (.271, 10 HR, 58 RBI). Ellsbury is 19-for-57 with a homer, four doubles and four RBI against Price in his career. McCann is 10-for-23 with three homers and seven RBI against the pitcher and Headley has done damage as well, going 7-for-14 with two doubles and three RBI in the matchup. They’ll need these guys to continue to give the Jays ace trouble on Friday.
