Red Sox vs. Blue Jays Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, April 26 (Kevin Gausman is Real, and He's Spectacular)

They say the best things in life are free, but Toronto Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman's not handing out any free passes so far in 2022.

Through his first three starts of the year, the newly signed right-hander has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 22:0 in the early going for the Jays this season.

He'll look to keep his pinpoint control going into Game 2 of their home stand vs. the sputtering Boston Red Sox at the Rogers Centre this evening. Right-hander Nick Pivetta gets the ball for Boston as he looks to improve from an 0-3 start this year with an ERA north of 10!

Toronto took the opener on a grand slam by Bo Bichette to break a 2-2 tie in the 8th inning.

Here are the latest odds for tonight's AL East matchup over at WynnBET Sportsbook.

Red Sox vs. Blue Jays Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Red Sox +1.5 (-140)
• Blue Jays -1.5 (+115)

Moneyline:

• Red Sox +164
• Blue Jays -179

Total:

• 8.5 (OVER +105 | UNDER -125)

Red Sox vs. Blue Jays Prediction and Pick

I'm leaning Blue Jays run line here; as the pitching matchup does not appear to be remotely close.

We briefly mentioned Gausman's terrific start above, but not only does he lead the Majors without a walk issued in 18.2 innings pitched this year, he also has not given up a home run and leads all of baseball in FIP (fielder independent pitching) at 0.70. His excellent 2.89 ERA actually suggests that he's been UNLUCKY relative to balls hit into play.

As for Pivetta, the numbers speak for themselves and they are ugly. He's lost every game he's started this year, and while win-loss record is amongst the worst ways to actually measure success; it is worth noting that he's allowed four or more earned runs in every start; giving up 13 earned runs in just 11.2 innings. He's gone past five innings only once with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 10:9. Simply put, he has not given the Red Sox a chance to win at any point he's taken the mound.

Could Pivetta all of a sudden look like the 2020 version of himself and mow down the Blue Jays on the road? Of course, it's baseball and crazy things happen all the time. But between Gausman's consistency on the mound, as well as the metrics indicating he could be even better if not for some bad luck, I'll back the Jays once again at home as the Red Sox continue to struggle

PICK: Blue Jays RL (+115)

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