The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to rebound from their first series loss in four weeks when they open a crucial four-game weekend series with the Minnesota Twins on Thursday as -145 road favourites on the MLB odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto opened its final road trip of the season this week with losses in two of three dates with the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, leaving the team firmly positioned on the postseason bubble heading into Thursday night’s matchup at Target Field.
The Blue Jays closed out their series in Tampa Bay on Wednesday with a decisive 7-1 defeat at the hands of the Rays. Toronto remains in a three-way race with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees for the two wild-card berths in the American League heading into their series with the Twins this weekend. To stay in that race, the Blue Jays will be looking to shake off their recent inconsistent play.
After opening the month of September on a torrid 15-2 run, the Blue Jays have cooled off considerably over the past week with just four wins in their past eight outings. Toronto has struggled at times to contain opposing hitters during its recent uneven stretch, allowing six or more runs on three occasions over its past six contests. The team must also find a way to regain its offensive touch after tallying just nine total runs while dropping two of three games to the Rays.
The upside for the Blue Jays is their recent strong play on the road. Despite this week’s struggles in Tampa Bay, the Blue Jays have managed to rack up 10 wins in their past 13 dates away from Rogers Centre, while averaging over 6.6 runs per game during that stretch. However, that has not translated into steady returns for those taking the OVER at betting sites, which has paid out in just five of their past 14 away dates.
The Blue Jays have also turned in mixed results against the Twins, who return home for Thursday’s contest as +122 underdogs. Toronto has tallied wins in just five of its last 14 meetings with the Twins but claimed victory in three of four games in its last visit to Minnesota two years ago. Toronto is also poised to benefit from the Twins’ recent struggles on home turf, where they have averaged just 3.2 runs per game while losing seven of nine.
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