9:07 pm
July 4

Blue Jays @ Athletics

Who will WIN this matchup?

Toronto Blue Jays (44-36)

@ Oakland Athletics (26-55)

 

Starting Pitchers:

Manoah (TOR): 9-2; 2.09 ERA

Irvin (OAK) 2-6; 3.58 ERA

 

Current odds:

Toronto Blue Jays: (-265)

Oakland Athletics: (+215)

 

• The Oakland Athletics return home, but get no break in the schedule, when they open a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays in an Independence Day twilight start Monday night. The A’s have lost 11 of their last 12 games in Oakland, and potentially already suffered their first loss of the upcoming homestand before it started. Ace right-hander Frankie Montas had to be pulled from Sunday’s 2-1 loss in Seattle after one inning with tightness behind his right shoulder. A’s manager Mark Kotsay reported after the game that Montas would undergo further examination in Oakland.

• Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah (9-2, 2.09) pitched a 4-3 win over the A’s in the series finale, limiting them to two runs and four hits in six innings. Stephen Vogt homered off Manoah, one of just seven he has allowed this season. The 24-year-old has made two starts against the A’s in his career, going 1-0 with a 6.55 ERA.

• He is coming off a no-decision in a 6-5 home loss to the Boston Red Sox last Wednesday, having allowed three runs (two earned) in seven innings. He’s 4-1 with a 1.94 ERA in seven road starts this season. Like his A’s counterpart, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo came away from a tough homestand concerned about the overuse of his bullpen. The club recently signed former A’s reliever Sergio Romo to provide depth, and he’s given the bullpen an immediate lift with two shutout innings.

• The A’s are scheduled to open the homestand with lefty Cole Irvin (2-6, 3.58) on the hill. He did not face Toronto in the earlier series. Irvin is winless in his last nine starts, going 0-5 despite a respectable 3.69 ERA. He hasn’t won since shutting out the Texas Rangers 2-0 in his fourth start of the season in April. The 28-year-old has gone 1-1 with a 6.97 ERA in two career starts against the Blue Jays. The only time he’s faced them in Oakland, he struck out nine while allowing just one run and three hits in eight innings in a 4-1 win last May.

7/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Toronto Blue Jays
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