Blue Jays vs Rays Prediction - MLB Picks 5/22/23

Tampa Bay Rays (34-14) vs Toronto Blue Jays (25-22)

Game Info: Monday, May 22, 2023 at 6:40 pm (Tropicana Field)

Trevor Kelley (0-1) (7.50) vs Chris Bassitt (5-2) (3.05)

Betting Odds: Tampa Bay Rays -125 / Toronto Blue Jays +100 --- Over/Under: 8.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

The Toronto Blue Jays will fly down to Florida to face the Tampa Bay Rays for game one of their divisional set this Monday from Tropicana Field.

Blue Jays Betting Preview

Toronto moved to 25-22 after being swept by Baltimore. The Blue Jays have now dropped six of their last seven AL East games after being swept by the O’s, and they need to regroup here versus Tampa. The Toronto offense is scoring 4.85 runs per game, while batting .258, with a .330 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 3.92 ERA, with a 1.27 WHIP. Bo Bichette collected three hits in the series finale with the Orioles, and he leads the team in batting (.320), hits (64) and RBI (30). Vlad Guerrero Jr. was quiet in Baltimore over the weekend, but he’s still second on the team to Bichette with 7 HR and 27 RBI. Matt Chapman homered in the series finale to bring his splits to .301/6/24.  

Chris Bassitt (5-2, 3.05 ERA, 41 Ks) will take the bump for Toronto. The ninth-year pitcher put together his third straight flawless outing, striking out seven over seven shutout innings against the Yankees last time out. Bassitt has been one of the best arms in the majors this season, and seven of his last eight outings have resulted in quality starts. Bassitt is also carrying a 23-inning scoreless streak going as well.

Rays Betting Preview

Tampa Bay comes in at 33-14 after taking two or three from Milwaukee. The Rays responded to the interleague series loss to the Mets by taking their series with the Brew Crew, and they now head into divisional action. The Tampa offense is scoring 5.78 runs per game, while batting .272, with a .346 on-base percentage. The pitching staff carries a 3.31 ERA, with a 1.15 WHIP. Yandy Diaz has recorded a hit in eleven straight games, and he now leads Tampa in batting (.329) and runs scored (34). Randy Arozarena was quiet during interleague play, but he produced a run in the last three matchups with the Yanks prior to last week, and he leads the team in RBI (36). Josh Lowe homered and put four runs on the board in the series finale with Milwaukee, and he’s right behind Arozarena for the team-lead in RBI with 34. 

Trevor Kelley (0-1, 7.50 ERA, 2 Ks) will open the game for Tampa. The journeyman pitcher has made four appearances this season, and three of them were in NYC last week against the Yankees and Mets. Kelley’s lone April outing was against these same Blue Jays, who managed to find a pair of runs in two innings off of him in what would end up becoming their second loss of the season. . 

Toronto vs Tampa Trends

Toronto is 22-25 against the spread this season, with a 22-23-2 O/U record. Tampa is 28-20 ATS this year, with a 27-18-3 over/under record.

Corey’s Free Pick

With Tampa making Monday a bullpen day, and Toronto set to trot Chris Bassitt out, the visitors are primed to take game one. The Blue Jays were the ones to snap the Devil Rays’ undefeated streak to open the season, and they’re capable of stealing a few wins down here in central Florida. Bassitt’s form is more than trustworthy right now, and while expecting him to keep his scoreless inning streak going may be asking a lot, he should still be able to pitch well enough to guide the Blue Jays to a victory. Take Toronto for game one of this Jays/Rays series.

Corey’s Pick Blue Jays ML

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

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