The Toronto Blue Jays will be trying to avoid losing three in a row for the first time this season when they return home on Tuesday to open a three-game series with the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox as +110 underdogs on the MLB odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto dropped three of four to the New York Yankees over the weekend, capped by Sunday’s 5-1 loss as a +220 road underdog, but remains in second place in the AL East standings, four games back of Boston going into Tuesday night’s Red Sox versus Blue Jays betting matchup at Rogers Centre.
Sunday’s lopsided loss was the second straight for the Blue Jays after getting blown out 9-1 on Saturday as +147 underdogs. It also marked the first time the club has dropped consecutive decisions since coming up short to the Yankees in their first two outings of the season.
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While the Blue Jays have struggled against the Yankees this season, going 3-5 in eight meetings to date, they have otherwise been a model of consistency, particularly on home turf, where a free-swinging offense has powered their current 7-1 run.
Toronto hitters have racked up 9.8 runs per game over the club’s past five home dates, including a 15-5 demolition of Kansas City as -195 chalk last Wednesday that capped a three-game sweep, during which they outscored the Royals by a 31-12 margin.
Recent matchups with the Red Sox have also tended to be high-scoring affairs. The two teams have combined to score an average of 11 runs per game over their past six meetings, all at Fenway Park. However, the Blue Jays have struggled to score when the Red Sox visit, averaging just 1.71 runs per game in six straight losses at the Rogers Centre.
The Red Sox travel to Toronto riding their first two-game losing streak of the season, but remain pegged as -120 favourites in Tuesday’s series opener. A 17-2 start lifted Boston to within one win of the MLB record for best season start through 20 games, but the team was denied a share of history by a 3-0 loss to Oakland as -166 chalk on Saturday that also marked its first no-hitter defeat since 1993.
Boston’s offensive struggles continued with a 4-1 loss as -125 chalk on Sunday, continuing a dramatic reversal in fortune after the club averaged a whopping 8.25 runs per game during an impressive 11-1 run, which powered the Red Sox to the top of the MLB standings while lifting them to a short +650 on the 2018 World Series odds.
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