The Oakland Athletics (49-69) prepare for the Toronto Blue Jays (54-63) in the American League at Rogers Centre. This is the deciding game as the A’s are coming off a 1-0 road win on Saturday. Left-hander JP Sears starts for Oakland while veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt pitches for Toronto in this game.
Athletics looks to the future
The Oakland Athletics have played poorly this season as they have finished last in the AL West. The Athletics have been one of the mediocre teams on offense as the lineup has a slash line of .230/.301/.395 so far and has scored an average of 4.01 runs per game. One of the team’s biggest strengths has been their hitting as they are fourth in Major League Baseball with 150 total home runs so far. Center fielder JJ Bleday has hit well as he has an OPS of .748 with 13 home runs, 38 RBIs, and 51 runs scored and has been caught stealing twice so far without successfully scoring a stolen base. This Oakland team has been able to hit but needs to figure out how to pitch better to win games.
The Athletics will have left-hander JP Sears on the mound, and he has pitched decently in his 23 starts this season. He has a 9-8 record with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 126.1 innings. Batters have been able to hit the ball over the wall, as he has had 17 home runs against him to this point, but that’s better than his 34 home runs allowed in 172.1 innings in 2023. Sears is coming off a winning outing against the Chicago White Sox, where he pitched seven innings and allowed one run on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
The Blue Jays want to improve
The Toronto Blue Jays have struggled this season as they are currently in last place in the AL East. Their offense has struggled a bit as they rank 21st in the league with a team OPS of .694 and 4.11 runs scored per game. The team has a lot of contact as their total of 876 strikeouts at the batting plate is the fifth lowest in MLB. Left fielder Daulton Varsho has performed poorly at the batting plate as he posted a slash batting average of .203/.288/.393 with 13 home runs, 47 RBIs, 56 runs scored, and 10 steals while being caught stealing twice. This Blue Jays team still has some talent and can be a tough team to go up against.
Veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt will be on the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays and he is pitching at a good level as in 23 starts he is 9-10 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP in 130.0 innings. Batters are too good at getting hits against him as he currently has an opposing batting average of .265. Bassitt is coming off a win over the Baltimore Orioles where he pitched seven innings and allowed two runs on three hits with two walks and nine strikeouts, which is a season high.
Best bets
Side bet on the whole game
Evaluation:
Looking at the last seven starts of these two pitchers, we can easily see the difference for this game. JP Sears is 5-1 with a 2.98 ERA and a 6:41 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 42.1 innings, while Chris Bassitt is 3-4 with a 5.12 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in 38.2 innings. Even with these starters off the mound, the trend continues throughout the season, as the A’s rank fifth in baseball with a 3.59 ERA for relievers, while the Blue Jays rank 29th with a brutal 5.07 ERA for the bullpen entering this game. Bet on the Oakland Athletics as the underdog to win this game.
Prediction: Oakland Athletics +125
Total selection for the whole game
Evaluation:
In recent weeks, these teams have not scored enough runs to really matter, as the Athletics have scored 2.75 runs in their last 12 games while the Blue Jays have averaged 4.64 runs in their previous 14 games. In August, these teams are not hitting as well as they should: Oakland ranks 28th with a team OPS of .619, while Toronto ranks 21st with a team OPS of .696. All told, that’s less than 8.5 runs after these teams scored a single run against each other.
Forecast: Below 8.5
