Blue Jays vs. Rays Prediction and Odds for Friday, May 13 (Toronto has an Edge on the Mound against AL East Rivals)

The Tampa Bay Rays welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to Tropicana Field Friday to kick off a three-game series in the Sunshine State. These AL East rivals are battling it out for the second spot in the division as the Yankees are in firm control of first. 

The Rays are in need of a rebound after losing three of their last four games in the lead-up to this series. The Angels' lineup beat the Rays up in three games, scoring 25 total runs. 

The Blue Jays' struggles have been a bit more of an issue over the last few weeks. Maybe prolonged is a better way to put it. The Blue Jays had the best record in the AL briefly but went from 10-5 to 17-15 in just a couple of weeks.  Toronto comes off a two-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees and is hoping to have more success against the Rays over the weekend. 

Here are the odds for this game, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook. 

Blue Jays vs. Rays Odds, Run Line, and Total

Run Line

• Blue Jays: -1.5 (+135)
• Rays: +1.5 (-155)

Moneyline:

• Blue Jays: -140
• Rays: +120

Total:

• Total 6.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Blue Jays vs. Rays Prediction and Pick

The similarities between these two teams don’t stop at their win/loss record. The pair also have two very strong arms going against each other on Friday. Drew Rasmussen gets the nod for Tampa Bay while the Rays look to counter with Kevin Gausman. 

Gausman enters Friday with a 3-1 record, 2.13 ERA, and 1.00 WHIP. Rasmussen has a very similar line at 3-1, 2.89, and 0.96. The only real difference is that Gausman has pitched 38 innings in six starts while Rasmussen managed just 28 in the same span. 

I have to say that between the two, Gausman is the guy I want on my team right now with his insane strikeout to walk ratio. Before his last start against the Guardians, Gausman’s K/BB walk rate was 26:0, after that game it's not 46:1. Gausman has walked one batter all year! For a guy who also strikes out a lot of batters, this is very impressive. 

Despite a lot of similarities between these AL East rivals, the Blue Jays do all the little things right that make me want to trust them in this primetime matchup. 

Pick: Blue Jays -140 ML

Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE