The Toronto Blue Jays aim to bounce back after a loss to the Detroit Tigers in the series opener.
The pregame narrative: Yusei Kikuchi was struggling before the All-Star break and I'm expecting more of the same against a confident Detroit offence. Reese Olson has been a reliable arm and should be able to handle a Blue Jays lineup missing one of its top hitters.
Check out the best Blue Jays props vs. the Tigers on July 20.
Blue Jays props vs. Tigers
Go to full Blue Jays/Tigers MLB betting markets.
Best bet: Kikuchi under 16.5 outs (-121)
Kikuchi's season relative to the rest of Toronto's roster hasn't been that bad.
The lefty pairs a 4.42 ERA with an encouraging 3.69 FIP this year. His recent starts, however, haven't offered up much reason for optimism.
Kikuchi's ERA jumps to 7.53 and his FIP to 5.23 over his last six appearances. Opponents are batting a lofty .300 and posting a .902 OPS against him during this stretch.
He's facing a Detroit offence that has been very sharp recently. The team is averaging 6.58 runs per game over its last seven and has scored at least five runs in five of those contests.
The Tigers are getting key contributions from their top hitters during this run. Colt Keith has a 1.124 OPS and Riley Greene boasts a 1.055 OPS across their last seven outings, respectively.
Kikuchi's FIP suggests he's due for some progression, but I don't see it coming today against a hot Tigers squad.
Key stat: Kikuchi has gone below this number in seven of his last 10 starts.
Quick pick
Olson over 16.5 outs (-120): Toronto's offence has been terrible this season.
The team is 25th in runs per game (4.06) and that mark drops to 3.93 when playing at Rogers Centre.
The lineup will be without Bo Bichette today, too, as the star shortstop is dealing with another injury to his calf.
I like Olson's chances of working deep into the game with struggles and injury woes plaguing the lineup.
Olson has a 3.30 ERA and a 3.07 FIP this season. He was dealing especially well before the all-star break, posting a 2.40 ERA and 2.57 FIP while clearing this line in all five of those starts.
Olson's consistency is the main reason why I'm comfortable betting on him to go over this line. He has cleared it in 11 of his 18 outings (61.1%) this season.
Picks made at 9:17 a.m. on 07/20/24.
