Blue Jays vs. Angels Odds
| Blue Jays Odds | -135 |
| Angels Odds | +115 |
| Over/Under | 8 (-105/-115) |
| Time | 9:38 p.m. ET |
| TV | Apple TV+ |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
The Blue Jays managed a very encouraging 6-3 win in the series opener against the Angels on Thursday, specifically because Hyun-Jin Ryu continued to show better form in what was another solid start.
Toronto's rotation could be starting to look very strong should Ryu return to livable form, in large part due to the presence of Alek Manoah, who has been a rock so far this season with a 5-1 record and 1.62 ERA.
The Angels will hand the ball to Chase Silseth, who has been excellent in two appearances in the majors this season vs. Oakland, playing to an ERA of just 2.61.
Will Silseth be able to post a similarly dominant result against a considerably more potent Toronto offense?
Blue Jays Have Stud In Manoah
Manoah has followed up his first full MLB campaign in 2021 with a tremendous start to this young season, and has managed an excellent xERA of 2.61 while averaging of 6.25 innings per start.
We know win-loss records are meaningless in terms of judging a pitcher's quality, but Manoah's fiery nature and excellent competitiveness have been quite notable in battling to some of those wins. On a number of occasions in his young career it's been quite clear that perhaps Manoah didn't have his best stuff early in a game, yet still found a way to hang around and eat some innings effectively for his team.
Luck is obviously a massive part of your record as a pitcher in the MLB, but I do think there is some reasoning as to why Manoah holds a 14-3 record throughout his MLB career on what has been a good Blue Jays team the last two seasons.
Manoah has been hard-hit just 29.9% of the time in 2022, and has lowered his walk-rate down to 4.7%. All indications are that the towering 24-year-old is set to dominate all season long, and I think we will see Manoah hang loosely around the AL Cy Young race.
Offensively, the Blue Jays have been far less effective than most would have expected early on in this 2022 campaign, which has been the main causation to Toronto's middling 24-20 record.
The Blue Jays hold a 20th-ranked wOBA of .303 with a 17th-ranked wRC+ of 97. Against right-handed pitching in particular, Toronto hold similar marks, with a .305 wOBA and 98 wRC+.
Based off of what we know about this lineup, I still believe the bats will get going and manage far more productive play moving forward, and it could even be argued that a 24-20 record so far with how the bats have struggled is a positive note.
Between injuries and poor results when in the lineup, Teoscar Hernandez has contributed essentially nothing at the plate, however I still believe that Hernandez has to be able to produce at least somewhat above-average results over a larger sample size. He rested Thursday, but should draw back in Friday looking to get back on track.
Each of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Bo Bichette, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. should be able to manage more effective results at the plate moving forward, and I believe this team is surely at a low-water mark offensively.
What Will Angels Get Out Of Silseth?
Silseth has managed somewhat surprisingly strong results so far this season since his call-up from Double-A. He has pitched to an xERA of 3.26 in two appearances so far, but both did come against Oakland, which is near the bottom of the league in nearly every relevant batting category.
Silseth threw four-seam or split-finger fastballs 75% of the time in those two starts, which certainly were more effective vs. Oakland than they will be against this Toronto team.
Oakland has been the 29th-most productive team vs. fastballs, while Toronto has hit to a positive run value vs. those pitches this season, and should trend up based upon last season's results.
It certainly seems a stretch for the time being to expect this kind of results from Silseth, and I think Toronto could certainly manage a strong output Friday.
Silseth will be backed by what has been one of the most productive offenses in baseball, however. Los Angeles has hit to a 118 wRC+.
Blue Jays-Angels Pick
Toronto has not played anywhere near its full offensive capabilities so far this season, and I believe that this will be somewhat of a low-water mark with regards to what this lineup is truly capable of.
Offensively, Toronto is just beginning to really trend in the right direction, and when we see several of its key batters find closer to the form we expect, it is still a lethal unit.
Manoah has given us every indication that he should dominate moving forward, and even against this excellent Angels lineup I feel he will find a way to give his team a great chance to win Friday.
I see value backing Toronto to win in this spot at -125, and would play the Blue Jays to -135.
Pick: Toronto Blue Jays -125 (Play to -135)
