Yankees vs. Blue Jays Prediction and Odds for Saturday, June 18 (Manoah is Money This Afternoon in Toronto)

Remember the scene in the movie Anchorman after the all-out brawl between all the news stations in San Diego?

Afterwards, the Channel 4 news team led by Ron Burgundy evaluate what just happened, and how everything "escalated quickly."

After looking at Friday's box score between the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays Friday night, that 5th inning emulated the same type of feeling. "I mean, that really got out of hand, fast!"

New York dropped an 8-spot on Toronto, as Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, and Anthony Rizzo all went deep in the 5th; demolishing the Jays 12-3 in Game 1 of their three game set.

Now, Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah is tasked with slowing down the most potent lineup in baseball as Toronto is a slight favorite at home. Is he up to the task?

Here are today's odds for Saturday's matinee north of the border over at WynnBET Sportsbook.

Yankees vs. Blue Jays Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Yankees +1.5 (-195)
• Blue Jays -1.5 (+160)

Moneyline:

• Yankees +125
• Blue Jays -135

Total:

• 8.5 (OVER -105 | UNDER -115)

Yankees vs. Blue Jays Prediction and Pick

I'm backing the Blue Jays in a critical bounce back spot today with their most consistent pitcher on the mound in Manoah.

Toronto's most reliable starter is 8-1 with a 1.67 ERA through 75.2 innings pitched so far in 2022. His peripherals are all excellent as well with an expected ERA of 2.54 over at Fangraphs, so while he's been a tad lucky, even if he were to slightly regress, he's still be amongst the best in baseball this season.

New York's starter is no slouch either. Former No. 2 overall pick Jameson Taillon is in the midst of his best professional season; going 7-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 12 starts. He's no longer the dominant strikeout arm of his 20's. Rather, he's evolved into more of a pitch-to-contact guy that's also eliminated a ton of walks, and most importantly, the long ball. Taillon went from giving up 1.5 HR/9 last season to just 0.8 HR/9 so far in 2022, and when you pitch half your games at hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium; eliminating deep fly balls is critical to your success.

So with both pitchers looking like studs on the mound, why not just back the under as opposed to taking a side? It's a fair argument, but ultimately I simply trust Manoah more and lean him with the odds slightly in his team's favor.

Toronto feeds off his confidence and is 9-3 this year in games he starts this year, and 26-7 in games he's pitched overall. I expect that number to go to 27-7 after today.

LEAN: Blue Jays ML -135

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