Athletics vs Blue Jays Odds, Picks and Predictions (April 16)
- The Toronto Blue Jays are -230-home favorites over the Oakland Athletics in an American League afternoon game slated for Saturday, April 16
- Toronto starter Hyun Jin Ryu is 2-0 with a 3.20 ERA in his career against the A’s
- See the Athletics vs Blue Jays odds and predictions
The arrival of the Oakland Athletics to Toronto might be just what the doctor ordered for the Blue Jays and starting pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu.
Friday’s 4-1 loss to the Jays was the seventh in a row for the A’s at Toronto. Oakland is winless in Canada since May 20, 2018.
Lefty Ryu, who was roughed up in his season-opening starting against the Texas Rangers, is 2-0 in his career against the A’s and shows a 7.00 strikeout/walks ratio in his career when facing Oakland batters.
Oddsmakers are agreeing with these trends. It’s the Blue Jays who are set as -230 home favorites over the Athletics. Overall, Toronto is 12-2 straight up in the past 14 games against Oakland.
Athletics vs Blue Jays Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | +195 | +1.5 (-105) | O 9.0 (-115) |
| Toronto Blue Jays | -230 | -1.5 (-115) | U 9.0 (-105) |
Odds as of April 15th at Caesars Sportsbook.
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Saturday’s first pitch at the Rogers Centre is set for 3:07pm ET. The forecast is calling for cloudy skies, 15 mph wind and a temperature of 47 degrees. But should conditions be bad, not to worry. They’ll simply keep the stadium’s retractable roof shut.
Blackburn vs Ryu
| 1-0 | Record | 0-0 |
| 0.00 | ERA | 16.20 |
| 2.45 | xERA | 4.83 |
| 1.80 | WHIP | 2.10 |
| 7.00 | SO/W Ratio | 2.00 |
Is it time for the Blue Jays to start worrying about 35-year-old lefthander Ryu? He was smacked around in his season debut. The Texas Rangers roughed him up for five hits and six earned runs in just 3.1 innings of work.
Going back to last season, Ryu is 3-5 over his past 11 starts. He’s showing a 7.20 ERA over that span. Ryu has allowed six or more earned runs in four innings or less in four of those 11 starts. He showed an 8.38 ERA over his last six starts of 2021.
Hyun Jin Ryu’s final line:
3.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.
70 pitches, 43 strikes.
GO-FO: 5-0.
5 whiffs.
Heater T91.5 mph, avg 90.1.
ERA at 16.20.#BlueJays— Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN) April 10, 2022
Against the Rangers, Ryu was solid through the first three innings and then it all blew up in spectacular fashion in the fourth inning as he squandered a 6-1 Toronto lead. The Jays opted to give Ross Stripling a spot start in Friday’s series opener against Oakland. That’s enabling Ryu to go Saturday on an extra day’s rest.
Clearly, Toronto is displaying signs of concern about Ryu. The staff ace in 2020 and an AL Cy Young Award finalist, Ryu is now listed as the #4 starter in the Blue Jays’ rotation.
Paul Blackburn, Mean Curveballs. 😡 pic.twitter.com/VwMX4LiN13
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 11, 2022
Paul Blackburn was sensational is his first start of the season against Tampa Bay. Can he do it again, though? That’s been the issue with Blackburn. Last season, in nine starts, he won consecutive starts once.
Blackburn was 1-3 in four road starts with an 8.44 ERA. That included a 10-8 loss on Sept. 4 at Toronto. In that game, the righthander surrendered nine hits and four earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. He finished with as many strikeouts has home runs he gave up (three apiece).
Blackburn also worked seven shutout innings at Toronto for the A’s on July 26, 2017. Oakland eventually lost the game 3-2.
Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers
| Athletics Batters | Batting Average vs Ryu | Blue Jays Batters | Batting Average vs Blackburn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elvis Andrus | .000 | Bo Bichette | .500 |
| Christian Bethancourt | .000 | Cavan Biggio | .000 |
| Seth Brown | .000 | Matt Chapman | .000 |
| Drew Jackson | .000 | Zack Collins | .000 |
| Tony Kemp | .500 | Santiago Espinal | .000 |
| Jed Lowrie | .000 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr | .000 |
| Billy McKinney | .000 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr | 1.000 |
| Yadiel Hernandez | .000 | Tyler Heineman | .000 |
| Sean Murphy | .500 | Gosuke Katoh | .000 |
| Sheldon Neuse | .000 | Alejandro Kirk | .000 |
| Cristian Pache | .000 | George Springer | .333 |
| Chad Pinder | .000 | Raimel Tapia | .000 |
| Kevin Smith | .000 | Bradley Zimmer | .000 |
| Stephen Vogt | .000 | — | — |
Jays outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr has only faced Blackburn twice but he’s made the most of those limited plate appearances. Gurriel is 2-for-2 (1.000), including a solo home run that came at the Rogers Center last year. Toronto outfielder George Springer is 2-6 off of Blackburn.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. vs Paul Blackburn#WeAreBlueJays
Home Run 💣
Exit velo: 102.1 mph
Launch angle: 35 deg
Proj. distance: 400 ftNo doubt about that one 🔒
That's a dinger in all 30 MLB ballparksOAK (0) @ TOR (1)
🔻 2nd pic.twitter.com/Wr0pofFvaU— Would it dong? (@would_it_dong) September 4, 2021
Athletics catcher Sean Murphy is 1-for-2 (.500) against Ryu with a pair of RBI. A’s second baseman Tony Kemp is also 1-for 2 (.500).
Athletics vs Blue Jays Prediction
Toronto isn’t just beating the A’s. The Blue Jays are wearing out the Athletics. The Jays have outscored Oakland 93-49 over the past 14 games.
🕺🏽 VICTORY MOOD 🕺🏽 pic.twitter.com/CAhAr1ZCf6
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 16, 2022
In that stretch, Toronto is 12-2 SU and 10-4 against the runline. The Jays have outscored the Athletics 93-49.
Pick: Toronto Blue Jays runline -1.5 (-115)
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An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
