Blue Jays vs. Twins Preview: Jose Berrios Faces Former Team with Toronto's Season on the Line
By Thomas Snodgrass
On July 30th, the Minnesota Twins traded starting pitcher Jose Berrios to the Toronto Blue Jays, and today Minnesota will face Berrios as he tries to help Toronto secure a playoff berth.
The Blue Jays sit just one game back of the second spot in the American League Wild Card race to the New York Yankees, so Toronto will certainly be keeping their eyes on the Yankees vs. Red Sox game tonight.
Berrios has pitched well lately, just when the Blue Jays need him most, recording five consecutive quality starts. Berrios should have another quality start tonight against a Twins offense that has batted just .228 as a team (26th in the league) in the last 30 days.
Bailey Ober will be Berrios’ mound opponent. Ober has failed to get through the fifth inning in his last three starts and will face a Toronto offense that has batted .275 (third-best in the league) in the last 30 days.
Here’s how the odds for this matchup look on WynnBET Sportsbook.
Blue Jays vs. Twins Odds
Moneyline:
Toronto -150
Minnesota +130
Run Line:
Toronto -1.5 (+110)
Minnesota +1.5 (-130)
Total:
9.0 (Over: +100/Under:-120)
Both of the bullpens for Minnesota and Toronto have been shaky all season. For the Blue Jays, it may be the only weak link on the team. Both teams' bullpens have an ERA of higher than 4.00, so this game will come down to which team can have their bullpen taxed the least.
Berrios has had a stretch of quality starts and Ober has been failing to get past the fifth inning. The Blue Jays’ offense has continuously outperformed the Twins’ offense, and the major difference between both teams’ run differentials of Toronto at +166 run differential (fifth-best in MLB) and Minnesota at -103 (26th in MLB) is too much to ignore.
Toronto should win this game tonight and are a solid bet at -130 on the moneyline and +110 on the -1.5 point run line, too.
Can Berrios and the Blue Jays beat the Twins? Make your pick at WynnBET.