It’s a cat-and-mouse game in the American League East. Although the Toronto Blue Jays are ahead of everyone in the division, they’re far from safe with the New York Yankees hot on their heels. Will the Blue Jays create more room between them and New York? Or will the Yankees take one step closer into regaining the top spot in the division?
Read on for a detailed preview of this game. You can also click here for an overview of the AL and NL wild card races.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees Preview
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx
When: Friday, September 11, 2015, 7:05 PM ET
Line: Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Toronto Blue Jays
Pitching doesn’t usually take the limelight in every Blue Jays games, but when it does, it’s because David Price (14-5, 2.43 ERA) is on the mound.
In his last start, Price was once again exceptional as he tossed seven innings and allowed an earned run on only three hits. He did issue four walks, but nonetheless managed to extend his streak of eight strikeouts or more to four starts. Price is now 3-1 with an ERA of 3.21 over his last four outings.
He’ll gun for his 13th win of the season later tonight against the Yankees, whom Price has faced three times (1-1 with a 5.94 ERA in those starts) thus far this year. In his most recent start in the Bronx, Price shut down the Yankees, as he hurled seven scoreless innings and struck out eight in a 6-0 Toronto road win on August 8.
Price is 7-2 with a 3.25 ERA across 14 starts in the new Yankee Stadium.
As for the Blue Jays’ offense, the team will once again look for their version of murderer’s row in Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion to come up big. Donaldson is 35-for-95 (.368) with six homers and 32 RBIs over his last 25 games. Bautista is 25-for-89 (.281) with six taters and 19 RBIs over his past 25 games, while Encarnacion has hit 29-for-83 (.349) with nine home runs and 31 runs driven in in his past 23.
Toronto is 4-0 in its last four road games against the Yankees.
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Betting on the New York Yankees
Having picked up a win in each of his last three starts, rookie Luis Severino (3-2, 2.04 ERA) now looks forward to avenging the loss Toronto dealt him the first time he faced the hard-hitting Blue Jays.
Severino is coming off a sterling performance in a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay on September 4, as he pitched for six plus innings, allowing just one earned run (a home run) while scattering seven hits and striking out five. Control has been an issue of late for Severino, who has walked 13 batters in his last four starts, but the Yankees must still like what they’re seeing in the 21-year-old Dominican.
In his first meeting with the Blue Jays, Severino yielded three runs on five hits and struck out nine hitters in a 3-1 road loss on August 16. He has the chance to get back at Toronto later tonight at home, where he is 2-1 with a 1.56 ERA in three starts.
The Yankees’ lineup, meanwhile, boasts six players with at least 19 at-bats against Price. That includes Jacoby Ellsbury, who is 19-for-57 (.333) with a homer and four RBIs in his career opposite Price. Brian McCann, on the other hand, is 10-for-23 (.435) lifetime against the Blue Jays’ lefty.
The under is 4-2 in the Yankees’ last six home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Toronto wins, 5-4.
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