The New York and Toronto Blue Jays finish off a three-game set this afternoon at Yankee Stadium as the visitors have a chance to claim their first series win of this young season.
While the Jays took the loss on Saturday, they finally showed an offensive spark with eight runs driven in by eight different batters.
Will Toronto’s bats stay hot in the series finale? Find out in my Blue Jays vs. Yankees MLB picks and predictions for Sunday, April 7.
Blue Jays vs Yankees odds
Blue Jays vs Yankees predictions
The Toronto Blue Jays will hand the ball over to Bowden Francis for the second time this season, giving him another shot after his first MLB start went awry last week. The right-hander was nailed for 10 hits and seven earned runs over 5 1/3 innings of work against the Astros on April 1.
While Jays fans will be hopeful for a better performance from Francis on Sunday, the New York Yankees will be looking to pounce on the inexperienced starter. The Yankees have scored 5+ runs in six of nine games this season and I’ll look for them to cash in again today.
New York’s big bats have done most of their damage against right-handed pitching so far this season — Aaron Judge has collected both of his home runs and all six of his RBI vs righties, Oswaldo Cabrera has posted two homers and five of his seven RBI vs right-handers, and Juan Soto is batting .346 with three RBI against righties.
While there were some things to like about Francis’ first MLB start as he sat down seven Astros batters while throwing 61 strikes in 79 pitches, there were some worrying trends as well.
The 27-year-old recorded a hard-hit rate of 55.6 in the game and a .275 XBA — a couple of signs that his struggles might continue against New York.
My best bet: Yankees team total Over 4.5 (+100 at PROLINE+)
Blue Jays star player prop
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Over 0.5 RBI (+200 at PROLINE+)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finally showed some signs of life against the Yankees on Saturday as he cranked a home run to record his first homer and first RBI since the Jays’ opening game. While Vlad has certainly struggled at the plate to start the year, there's reason to believe he’ll turn it around soon.
Guerrero has a hard-hit rate of 60.9 through nine games — 10% higher than his career average — so he’s been making good contact but getting unlucky. Perhaps he starts to turn the page this afternoon with another RBI against the Yanks.
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Blue Jays vs Yankees moneyline and Over/Under analysis
- The Yankees opened as a -144 home favorite while sliding up to around -160 at most books ahead of first pitch. The Blue Jays opened at +133 and could be found as high as +140 by Sunday morning.
- The Yankees have won four of the last five meetings overall but the Jays are 8-4 in the last 12 meetings at Yankee Stadium.
- This afternoon’s total opened at 8.5 runs and betting has generally pushed that number down to 8 across the board.
- The Under is 5-2 in New York’s last seven contests.
Trend to know
The Under is 4-1 in the last five meetings. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Yankees
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Blue Jays vs Yankees game info
| Location: | Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY |
| Date: | Sunday, April 7, 2024 |
| First pitch: | 1:35 p.m. ET |
| TV: | Sportsnet, YES |
Starting pitchers
Bowden Francis (0-1, 11.81 ERA): Despite giving up 10 hits and seven runs to the Astros on Monday, Francis showed good control by striking out seven and generally keeping his pitches in the strike zone. Francis posted a 1.73 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP over 36 1/3 innings as a reliever for Toronto last season.
Luis Gil (0-0, 1.93 ERA): Luis Gil was excellent in his season debut on Monday, holding the Diamondbacks to just one hit and one earned run over 4 2/3 innings while striking out six. It marked Gil’s first MLB appearance since May 12, 2022, after a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery.
