Blue Jays vs Yankees Odds, Lines and Spread – Kikuchi vs Cortes
- The Blue Jays and Yankees play the second game of their four-game series at Yankee Stadium on April, 12th
- Yusei Kikuchi is on the bump for the Jays against Nestor Cortes of the Yankees
- Read below for the latest Blue Jays vs Yankees odds and our betting preview
Despite a 3-0 win on Monday, the Blue Jays are +100 underdogs on the moneyline for Game Two of their series with the Yankees. Toronto has won three of its first four this season and has offseason acquisition Yusei Kikuchi on the bump at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. The former Mariner matches up with Nestor Cortes.
New York has scored just seven runs over its last three. While Giancarlo Stanton has made his mark early in the campaign, the offense has generally been pretty cold. Only three Yankees have hit homers thus far. Six Jays have dingers to their name already in 2022.
Blue Jays vs Yankees Odds
| Team | Runline | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Blue Jays | +1.5 (-200) | +100 | O 9.5 (-107) |
| New York Yankees | -1.5 (+160) | -120 | U 9.5 (-112) |
Odds as of Apr 12 at Barstool Sportsbook
Toronto took 11 of their 19 games against the Yankees last season in a fiercely competitive AL East. As the MLB Division odds suggest, there’s little to choose between the two teams again in 2022. The Jays are the favorites at +165 to win the division, just ahead of New York at +200.
Probable Starters
Coming off an underwhelming year with Seattle, Kikuchi opted to leave the Mariners after they turned down a team option and he rejected a player option. He ultimately penned a multi-year deal to join Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Alek Manoah in the Toronto rotation. Kikuchi’s debut comes against a powerful Yankee line-up in a hitter-friendly stadium.
Presenting our 2022 pitching rotation!
Game 1: @JOLaMaKina
Game 2: @KevinGausman
Game 3: @HyunJinRyu99
Game 4: @Alek_Manoah6
Game 5: Yusei Kikuchi pic.twitter.com/fRlyduu2iF— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 6, 2022
His underlying numbers were not pretty last season. Ranking in the third percentile in hard hit rate and below league average in walk rate, Kikuchi’s strikeout numbers remained solid, but hitters made a lot of hard contact. His command and home run issues continued in the small sample size of Spring Training.
Swingman Cortes pitched just 93 innings last season across 14 starts and eight relief appearances. Despite low velocity, the Cuban posted strong numbers across the board with a 27.5% strikeout rate and a career-best 6.7% walk rate.
Kikuchi vs Cortes Pitching Stats
| 7-9 | Record | 2-3 |
| 4.41 | ERA | 2.90 |
| 5.23 | xERA | 3.32 |
| 24.5% | K% | 27.5% |
Both are massive outsiders in AL Cy Young odds, and while Cortes had the better expected numbers and results in 2021, there’s clear upside here. It will be interesting to see how Cortes approaches this Toronto line-up which struck out fewer times than any other team last season.
Yankees Offense Should Thrive
If last season’s performances favor Cortes over Kikuchi, it’s also easier to believe in the Jays offense over the inconsistent Yankees. Admittedly in a tiny sample, Toronto has an almost .900 OPS as a team this season, while New York is once again looking for some consistency throughout its line-up.
Joey Gallo had this lineout last night with a 112.5 mph exit velocity and a 22° launch angle.
Since Statcast started tracking, there have been 132 balls hit between 112-113 mph and 21-23°.
121 of the other 131 were home runs.
Gallo's is the first one ever to be an out. pic.twitter.com/zN23rR1kt9
— David Adler (@_dadler) April 11, 2022
This should be a good matchup for the home team, however. A lefty who gives up plenty of homers should be in trouble against a line-up featuring Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson. Though he disappointed in pinstripes in 2021, Joey Gallo has hit lefties well throughout his career, and went two-for-three with a walk on Monday.
Blue Jays vs Yankees Last 10 Meetings
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/11/22 | Yankees | Blue Jays | TOR, 3-0 |
| 9/30/21 | Blue Jays | Yankees | NYY, 6-2 |
| 9/29/21 | Blue Jays | Yankees | TOR, 6-5 |
| 9/28/21 | Blue Jays | Yankees | NYY, 7-2 |
| 9/9/21 | Yankees | Blue Jays | TOR, 6-4 |
| 9/8/21 | Yankees | Blue Jays | TOR, 6-3 |
| 9/7/21 | Yankees | Blue Jays | TOR, 5-1 |
| 9/6/21 | Yankees | Blue Jays | TOR, 8-0 |
| 6/17/21 | Blue Jays | Yankees | NYY, 8-4 |
| 6/16/21 | Blue Jays | Yankees | NYY, 3-2 |
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Yankees get to Kikuchi early on. Toronto has an offense capable of crushing any pitcher. Still, the 9.5 line for the total is on the high side. Six of the last eight between these teams have gone under that mark.
Blue Jays vs Yankees Prediction
We’re going with the Yankees moneyline here. It’s a case of needing to see it to believe it with Kikuchi, who was a subpar pitcher in 2021 after posting a 3.33 xERA in 2020.
This is a matchup where the Yankees sluggers can do some serious damage. Cortes’ showings as a starter last season suggest he can at least keep the Toronto offense under relative control.
Pick: Yankees moneyline (-120)
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Sam Cox is a freelance writer and sports junkie, who has spent the past several years immersed in the online gaming industry. He has worked with 888sport, Oddschecker, and Colossus Bets to name a few. Based in the UK, Sam also runs Franchise Sports with his brother.
