Blue Jays (Ryu) vs Rays (Glasnow) Game 2 Picks and Odds – Sep. 30th
- Game 2 of the Toronto Blue Jays-Tampa Bay Rays Wild-Card Series goes on Wednesday at 4:00 PM ET
- Tampa Bay won Game 1 by a final score of 3-1 behind a good effort from starter Blake Snell
- The Jays will send Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound for Game 2 against Tyler Glasnow of the Rays; see the odds and best bets, below
The Tampa Bay Rays drew first blood on Tuesday when they edged the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 in Game 1 of their Wild-Card Series. These playoff series are a short best-of-three, so the Jays need to win Game 2 to survive.
Toronto will send Hyun-Jin Ryu to the bump with their season on the line while the Rays will counter with Tyler Glasnow.
Tampa Bay is favored, but the moneyline is not as lopsided as it was for Game 1 thanks to the presence of the Jays’ ace.
Jays vs Rays Game 2 Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Blue Jays (H. Ryu) | +126 | +1.5 (-170) | Over 7.0 (-114) |
| Tampa Bay Rays (T. Glasnow) | -140 | -1.5 (+148) | Under 7.0 (-105) |
Odds as of September 29th at FanDuel.
The Rays won the regular-season head-to-head 6-4 and are now 7-4 against the Jays (including Game 1).
Ryu Has Been Reliable
Taking a look back at the offseason moves, the Jays signing of Hyun-Jin Ryu is one of the shrewdest transactions. Pitching was a sore spot for this team last season and Ryu really led the way for Toronto’s rotation. He finished the year with a 1.9 WAR, which was by far the best among any pitchers on this staff.
Ryu only really had one bad start in the final two months of the year, giving up five earned runs to the New York Yankees on September 7th. Outside of that, he allowed one earned run or fewer in eight of his final 10 starts.
Interestingly, the Blue Jays were a sterling 8-2 in Ryu’s last ten starts, but one of those losses was to Tampa Bay.
Glasnow Has Been Effective Against Most Opponents (Except Boston)
Tyler Glasnow will get the Game 2 nod and, at first blush, his overall numbers look average. He was 5-1 with a 4.08 ERA this season. However, when you drill down into the stats, it’s clear that he struggled against the Boston Red Sox and was quite effective against everyone else.
Against the Red Sox this season, Glasnow allowed nine earned runs in 11.0 innings of work, which boils down to a 7.36 ERA. Against everyone else, he posted a 3.32 ERA. The same goes for his WHIP, which was 1.55 against the Red Sox. He had a 1.04 WHIP against all other opponents.
What’s the Best Bet?
Ryu has only faced the Rays twice in his career (both this season) and the results were mixed. He allowed three earned runs in his first start – his first start of the season – while lasting just 4.2 innings. In his second start, he allowed just one run in 5.0 innings of work but the Jays eventually lost 2-1.
Tampa Bay is a reliable 14-4 this season when facing a team with a winning record and are now 20-7 against the Jays in Toronto’s last 27 visits to The Trop.
Although the Jays have a slight pitching edge in Game 2, it’s not as big of a margin as the bare 2020 stats suggest.
Look for another tight, relatively low-scoring affair in Game 2 with the Rays getting the win and advancing.
Pick: Rays moneyline (-140)
For over 15 years, Dave has been working in mainstream media and sports betting. He hosted a station on Sirius Satellite Radio for four years, and is currently a senior writer for AskMen. He's interviewed hundreds of hundreds of high-profile sports stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Floyd Mayweather.
