A must-watch series is about to begin later tonight in the Bronx, as the Toronto Blue Jays fly to Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of a three-game set between the top two teams in the American League East.
Read on for a detailed preview of this game. You can also click here for an overview of tonight’s exciting pitching matchup between the Dodgers and Pirates.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees Preview
Where: Yankee Stadium, New York
When: Friday, August 7, 2015, 7:05 PM ET
Line: Toronto Blue Jays (+108) vs. New York Yankees (-118); total: 9.0– view all MLB lines
Betting on the Toronto Blue Jays
[sc:MLB240banner ]R.A. Dickey’s (6-10, 4.06 ERA) knuckle ball can still make lots of hitters look stupid these days. And tonight, the Blue Jays are hoping that the former Cy Young winner’s stuff will fool the hard-hitting Yankees, just like the last time Dickey faced the Bronx Bombers.
Dating back to 2013, Toronto is 5-2 in his Dickey’s last seven starts against the Yankees. That includes Dickey’s fine eight-inning outing versus New York on May 4, when he allowed just one run on three hits in a Blue Jays’ 3-1 win. Dickey takes the mound at Yankee Stadium tonight having won all of his last three starts, wherein he rode his reliable knuckle ball all the way to an impressive 0.77 ERA.
Backing Dickey is Toronto’s crushing offense that is hitting .250/.313/.406 on the road thus far this season. Among Toronto’s best hitters away from Canada is Chris Colabello, who has a triple slash line of .289/.319/.430 on the road this year. Kevin Pillar, meanwhile, is batting .273 with five homers and 18 RBIs on the road.
So far in his career, Dickey is 7-3 with a 2.43 ERA across 12 starts against the Yankees.
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Betting on the New York Yankees
Nathan Eovaldi’s high 4.30 ERA won’t blow you away but his 11-2 record and some peripheral numbers are still impressive. Based on his 3.53 FIP and a low 0.69 HR/9 (he gave up just two homers in last 10 starts), Eovaldi is pitching fine—especially of late.
Over his last seven starts, Eovaldi has collected a 5-0 record and a 3.07 ERA. His last outing, however, wasn’t good, as he allowed three runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings against the White Sox on July 31. Nevertheless, a robust Yankees offense was enough to net a 13-6 victory, saving Eovaldi from picking up a loss.
The Yankees’ hitters have been very generous to Eovaldi, as evidenced by the 7.75 runs per nine innings pitched the righty is getting from his teammates. That’s the most offense any qualified starter in the majors is receiving thus far this season.
That kind of offense will have to show up again tonight against Dickey. Mark Teixeira is having quite a second half (.373), but is just 4-for-19 (.211) in his career against Dickey. Other Yankees will have to step up like new acquisition Dustin Ackley, who is 4-for-11 (.364) in the same matchup.
When Eovaldi gets on the mound at Yankee Stadium later, he’ll be looking to improve his AL-best record in terms of win percentage (.846). The Yankees are 4-0 in Eovaldi’s last four starts overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Toronto (+108) wins, 7-5.
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