The Angels are up North of the Border taking on the Blue Jays in Toronto for a weekend series! We get to see newly acquired Angels’ pitcher Lucas Giolito make his debut for the team since being traded from the Chicago White Sox.
This will be the last three games these teams play against each other this year, but in early April we had an exciting three games in Los Angeles.
Let’s get into tonight’s matchup!
Angels vs Blue Jays Season History
Back within the first two weeks of the 2023 MLB season, these teams squared off for three games down at Angel Stadium.
After trailing 3-1 through six innings, the Blue Jays scored 3 in the Top of the 7th on a Friday Night to secure the 4-3 victory.
The next day, the Angels got their home revenge by winning 9-5. Mike Trout had a three run home run in the bottom of the 5th to give the Angels the go-ahead lead.
On Sunday to close out the series, we had an offensive thriller. We saw 23 total runs as the Blue Jays escaped LA with a 12-11 win. The Angels found themselves up 6-0 through five innings.
But then the Blue Jays score 10 unanswered in the the 6th and 7th innings. The Angels forced extra innings by scoring three runs on the bottom of the 9th, but could not beat the Blue Jays in the 10th.
This brings us to tonight’s game where they Angels are tossing out their newly acquired ace.
Can Giolito help will the Angels to a win? Or will the Blue Jays and Kevin Gausman defend their home field?
Angels vs Blue Jays Game Information
Matchup Information
- Venue & Location: Rogers Centre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
- Date: Friday, July 28th, 2023
- First Pitch: 7:07pm Eastern
- Broadcast: Apple TV+
Pitching Matchup
- Los Angeles Angels: Lucas Giolito (6-6, 3.79 ERA)
- Toronto Blue Jays: Kevin Gausman (7-5, 3.18 ERA)
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of Bovada.
Runline
- Angels +1.5 (-130)
- Blue Jays -1.5 (+110)
Moneyline
- Angels +157
- Blue Jays -192
Total
- Over 8.5 (-105)
- Under 8.5 (-115)
Angels vs Blue Jays Prediction & Best Bets
I lean heavily with the Blue Jays tonight at home.
Toronto’s pitching staff is much better than the Angels, and although LA produces more runs, I think this game tonight is won on the mound.
Giolito pitched against Toronto as a member of the White Sox. He gave up 4 hits and 2 earned runs in 6 innings while walking two batters. Not a tremendous outing, and now he gets thrown into the fire with his new team.
Although he’s coming off a good road start, he has struggled away from home this season.
I think the Blue Jays can get to him early, and finish off this Angels team.
The Pick: Blue Jays -1.5 (+110) Bovada
Player Props
Bo Bichette over 2.5 HRR (+120)
Now asking for 3 hits, runs, and RBIs for just over plus money might seem like a lot, but I love Bichette’s splits against Giolito.
Bichette has cleared this number in his last two games, totaling 13 HRRs in just a couple nights.
Bichette bats .305 against RHP, and .364 in 12 plate appearances against Giolito. He has 4 hits, a double and a home run for 4 RBIs against this guy.
And he’s seeing he ball well at the right time.
Bichette has had 7 hits the past two games, including two for extra bases.
His over 1.5 Bases was listed around -120 for those interested, but I think he gets a double and an RBI for us tonight.
Kevin Gausman over 7.5 Strikeouts (-130)
As always, do some line shopping and you’ll find this is priced around -170 in the rest of the market, so we’re already saving tons of cents.
Gausman has hit 8+ Ks in 50% of games this season, but 67% of home contests.
He’s had double digit Ks in 6 of his 9 home starts.
Gausman is a strikeout pitcher, averaging 1.34 per innings putting him in the 92nd percentile of Major League Baseball. The Angels love to swing and miss against righties, especially over the past month.
Overall the Angels strikeout 23.8% against RHP, ranking them 9th worst in the MLB. But over the past month, that number jumps to 27.2%, putting them 4th worst in the league.
I think Gausman could have a field day with these Angel batters tonight at home.
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