The Toronto Blue Jays will try to bounce back from last Sunday’s devastating 19-1 loss to Houston when they return to action on Friday in the first of three games with the Detroit Tigers as +105 road underdogs on the MLB odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto’s series-ending loss to the Astros as a +109 home underdog fell short of setting a dubious club record, but marks the club’s third defeat by double digits in its past eight games going into Friday night’s Blue Jays vs. Tigers betting matchup at Comerica Park.
The Blue Jays were also pounded two days earlier by Houston, a 12-2 loss as narrow -109 home chalk, and suffered a humiliating 15-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox as -116 home favourites on July 2nd to inflate their average runs allowed per game to more than 8.1 over their past eight contests.
Despite Toronto’s inability to contain opposing hitters, the club is a respectable 4-2 over its past six games, and have regularly rewarded those taking the OVER in totals betting, which has gone 6-2-2 over its past 10 outings.
However, the Blue Jays enter the second half of the campaign with a mountain to climb if they are to reach the MLB post-season for a third straight year. With a 41-47 record, Toronto remains stalled in last place in the AL East standings, and has seen its World Series odds plummet to +5000 after peaking at +1600 in early June at online betting sites.
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Detroit enters Friday night’s weekend series opener as -125 chalk, but with just seven victories in their past 21 outings the Tigers find themselves in a similar predicament to the Blue Jays, sitting nine games under .500 and eight games back of the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians.
The Tigers have struggled with consistency all season, but a 7-3 run kept the club within 1.5 games of top spot in the division as recently as June 7. It has been all downhill for Detroit since then, with the Tigers going 10-19 over their past 29 games, including an eight-game losing streak, while tallying consecutive wins just three times during that stretch.
While the Tigers are a much more respectable 7-8 in 15 home games during their current swoon, including recent series wins over San Francisco and Kansas City, they have produced mixed results in recent dates with Toronto. The Blue Jays are 13-6 in their past 19 games overall against Detroit, but are just 2-4 in their past six clashes at Comerica Park.
