Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays – Major League Baseball – Betting Preview and Prediction – July 21, 2014

The Toronto Blue Jays are showing signs of recovery from their horrendous pre-All-Star Break slide, and will look to keep that going tonight. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox are riding a four-game winning streak of their own, are out to prove that their recent form is no fluke.

This AL-East tilt isn’t the only premier game on the MLB schedule tonight – the Jays’ competition for the AL East lead, the Baltimore Orioles, are taking on the Los Angeles Angels, and you can catch our preview of that game here. Also check out our MLB Free Picks for the best baseball games to bet on for the day. In the meantime, lock your eyes here as we take a look at tonight’s meeting between the Red Sox and the Blue Jays.
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Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays, Major League Baseball, Betting Preview and Prediction

Where: Rogers Center, Toronto

When: Monday, July 21, 7:07 PM ET

Line: Boston Red Sox (-104) at Toronto Blue Jays (-106); total 8.5 – view all MLB lines

Betting on the Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are on a four-game winning streak after finding the perfect balance of strong starting pitching and batting. They began their post-All-Star Game schedule with a three-game home sweep of the Kansas City Royals wherein all three starters went six-plus innings and the lineup produced 11 runs in support.

[sc:MLB240banner ]However, Boston’s struggles could yet return with another start from the struggling John Lackey (10-6, 3.79 ERA). Lackey has surrendered 18 earned runs (seven of which came in fewer than four innings against Seattle) and six homers in his last four starts. Lackey is also 5-8 with a 5.43 ERA in 20 career starts against the Blue Jays.

The Red Sox batters will need to step up to cover for Lackey. With their recent form, they are likely to do so. Lead off man Brock Holt in particular has played well as of late. Holt, who’s hitting .326 this season, is on a six-game hitting streak, going 14-for-28 over that stretch with a homer to boot.

Mike Napoli and Xander Bogaerts are set to return to contribute to Boston’s offense. Napoli is third in the team in RBIs with 35, while Bogaerts is seventh with 24 RBIs. They will be especially valuable should Boston get runners in scoring position.

Although the team is enjoying a win streak, Boston’s batting is still far from perfect. Two of their best hitters in Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz have struggled recently. Pedroia only hit 1-for-12 in a three-game series against Kansas City, while Ortiz only hit a double in 13 at-bats in the same span. Ortiz has also gone 0-for-6 against Toronto starter Drew Hutchison.

Betting on the Toronto Blue Jays

Once at the top of AL East, the Toronto Blue Jays now find themselves in third after a rough stretch at the end of the first half. To start off the second half, they went back to winning ways, taking two out of three games against the Texas Rangers.

With slugger Edwin Encarnacion still out of the lineup, the Blue Jays are being powered by the superb batting of left fielder Melky Cabrera. Cabrera is second in the majors in hits with 124 and has gone 6-for-9 with a homer, three RBIs and scored three runs in Toronto’s last two games.

Cabrera has also been very successful against Boston this season. In Toronto’s last four games against the Red Sox, Cabrera has gone 8-for-17 with two homers, three doubles, four RBIs and scored six runs. The left fielder has hit .323 against Boston starter Lackey.

Toronto, like Boston, is not without hitches as they will also be starting a struggling pitcher. On the mound for Toronto will be Drew Hutchison (6-8, 4.16 ERA). The Blue Jays are 1-4 in Hutchison’s last 5 starts. Hutchison has lost back-to-back starts, surrendering nine earned runs, while pitching in 10 innings over the same stretch. However, the Blue Jays pitcher has done well against Boston, limiting the Red Sox to hitting .192 in his career.

The Toronto Blue Jays have won their last four matchups against the Boston Red Sox.

Writer’s Prediction

The Toronto Blue Jays extend their winning streak to three with a win over the Boston Red Sox. The Blue Jays at -106 is a steal and deserves a bet.

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