Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees Predictions, Odds & Picks

• Wild card race living up to the hype
• Key matchups for each pitcher
• X-factors to watch

Blue Jays vs Yankees Odds

Odds presented by: DraftKings Sportsbook

Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees Prediction and Picks

There are two ways to think about this. Either one, the Blue Jays are hot and the Yankees are cold and all the momentum would lead us to think it stays that way. The alternative is, the Yankees are desperate and there’s no way they lose four straight at home to almost fall out of the playoff picture. Actually, they could. We like the Blue Jays to cover the spread and win outright on the money line.

Pick:

Blue Jays to cover the spread

Garcia’s 2021 record: (51-46-2)

Trends to watch (As of 9.9)

• Blue Jays are 7-0 in their last 7 overall
• Blue Jays are 6-0 in their last 6 vs. a team with a winning record
• Blue Jays are 6-1 in their last 7 vs. American League East
• Blue Jays are 6-2 in their last 8 road games vs. a team with a winning record
• Under is 5-0 in Blue Jays last 5 on grass
• Under is 13-3-1 in Blue Jays last 17 games as a road underdog
• Under is 15-4 in Blue Jays last 19 games vs. a left-handed starter
• Under is 15-4 in Blue Jays last 19 overall
• Under is 17-6-1 in Blue Jays last 24 games with the total set at 7.0-8.
• Blue Jays are 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in New York
• Yankees are 0-5 in their last 5 overall
• Yankees are 23-9 in their last 32 games vs. a right-handed starter
• Under is 6-1 in Yankees last 7 overall

Streaking Jays Making This Wild Card Race One for the Books

This American League Wild Card race is shaping up to be incredibly fun — unless you’re a Yankees fan. The Bronx Bombers have one again stubbed their toe, going 2-9 over the past 11 games, and watched a monstrous lead in the Wild Card race evaporate.

Because over almost that same time, Toronto has gone 10-1 and now all of a sudden instead of being in the first Wild Card spots, New York is .5 games back of Boston for that spot and sits in the final Wild Card position — now just 1.5 games ahead of Toronto, 2.5 ahead of Seattle and three ahead of Oakland.

For the Jays, the lineup has three of the best hitters in baseball. Vladimir Guerro J. belted his 42nd home run on Wednesday, and now is top five ini baseball in batting average (.322), home runs (42nd), RBIs (100), and OPS (1.016). Marcus Semien went 2-for-3 as well, continuing his torrid streak. The shortstop looking for a big contract in the offseason has six home runs and 13 RBIs in the eight games played so far this month while Teoscar Hernandez has cooled a little, but still has 25 home runs and 74 RBIs.

Which Pitcher Has the Advantage Against Opposing Lineup?

After debating this question for quite some time, the proper answer appears to be neither. NOw that doesn’t mean either one or both of these guys can’t have great games, but it does mean that we’re not counting on it given the quality of lineup each will have to face.

Let’s start with the newest face on the Blue Jays, former ace for the Twins, Jose Berrios. Berrios has had another solid season, going 10-7 thus far while ranking in the top 20 in ERA (3.55) WHIP (1.11) and strikeouts (169) in 159.2 innings.

Berrios has each of his past two starts, going 6.2 innings or deeper in both, giving up no runs in the first start and three in his last.

He’s countered by the Yankees’ 26-year-old Nester Cortes Jr. Cortes is 2-2 on the season, with a 2.67 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 71 strikeouts in 67.1 innings.

He’s been fantastic all season and done nicely with his transition into the starting rotation. In his last seven starts, Cortes has thrown five innings or more every time out and held the opponent to two runs or fewer on five of the occasions.

X-Factors to Watch

For New York, we’re looking for someone to step up, someone who we think has the chance to break out of a slump.

While he’s one of the main names on the team, he’s an x-factor because of the importance of this game and his name is Aaron Judge. A judge has been ice cold the last week, going just 2-of-26 during this losing streak.

But he does have good lifetime numbers off of Jose Berrios, going 5-of-7 with a double, a home run and a walk.

As for Toronto, Bo Bichette has been one of the best players on the road and we don’t expect that to change. The second-year star is hitting .277 with a .770 OPS, 12 home runs, and 39 RBI in 67 road games this season.

Let’s see if he can break out of his mini-slump – he’s 0-for-14 the past three games.

How to Watch Blue Jays vs Yankees