Rays vs. Blue Jays (September 13 – DH Game 1): Will Manoah pick up his 15th win of the season?

Today’s a big day in the AL East, as the Rays and Blue Jays tangle for two in Toronto. The action starts this afternoon with Alek Manoah and Jeffrey Springs taking the mound in the opener at Rogers Centre.

Last night, Toronto opened the five-game series against Tampa Bay with a 3-2 win, thanks to Bo Bichette’s go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth.

SEPTEM-BO IN TORONTO ? pic.twitter.com/CJ3RCMkRhq

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 13, 2022

The win, Toronto’s 11th in 14 games, moved them a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay in the AL East, five and a half games back of the first-place New York Yankees.

Their 9-2 September surge may well be happening too late for the Jays to catch and pass the Yankees in the division, but with two games today, they have a chance to pull within four games of the Bronx Bombers with 20 games remaining.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays Matchup Information and Betting Odds

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Tampa Bay Rays (78-61, 31-37 away, 3rd in the AL East) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (79-61, 39-29 home, 2nd in the AL East)
• Venue & Location: Rogers Centre (Toronto, Canada)
• Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2022
• Game Time: 1:07 p.m. Eastern Time
• Rays vs. Blue Jays TV Info: MLB Network

Rays vs. Blue Jays Pitching Matchup

• Tampa Bay: Jeffrey Springs (2022: 28 appearances – 20 starts, 7-4, 2.54 ERA)
• Toronto: Alek Manoah (2022: 27 starts, 14-7, 2.42 ERA)

Rays vs. Blue Jays Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from our other recommended legal sports betting sites may also appear in this article.

Moneyline

• Tampa Bay Rays +124
• Toronto Blue Jays -146

Over/Under

• Over 7.5 (-115)
• Under 7.5 (-105)

Run Line

• Tampa Bay Rays +1.5 (-184)
• Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (+152)

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Toronto Blue Jays Prediction and Best Bets

Rays vs. Blue Jays Prediction: Blue Jays to win

Rays vs. Blue Jays Best Bets: Blue Jays ML (Best Value: -146 at BetOnline) & Bo Bichette over 1.5 hits (Best Value: +205 at BetUS)

Manoah (+13000 at BetOnline) is too far behind to catch up in the AL Cy Young Award race, but he has been fantastic recently.

Since allowing four runs in 5.2 innings in a loss to the Baltimore Orioles on August 16, Manoah has allowed just four runs in 28.1 innings across his last four starts.

Last Wednesday, he allowed one run, three hits, and one walk and struck out five in a 4-1 win at Baltimore.

The Blue Jays are just 6-6 in Manoah’s home starts and have lost each of his last three outings at Rogers Centre. The last time they won one of his home starts (and his most recent home win) was on July 15 against the Kansas City Royals.

But after struggling for consistency throughout the season–their best record for any completed month thus far is 14-8 in April–things are clicking for the Blue Jays at the right time.

That should be very encouraging for Manoah, especially when he has the current AL Player of the Week in his corner.

Bichette’s decisive blast last night was just another highlight in a stretch that has been full of them.

This month, he is hitting .511 (24 for 47) with six doubles, a triple, seven homers, 21 RBI, and 15 runs scored. In 11 games this month, he has eight multi-hit games, and his average has gone from .260 to .281.

Bichette is hitting just .242 against lefties and .214 against the Rays this season, but with how he is hitting right now, you have to back him for another multi-hit game at the available odds.

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