Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction, 8/27/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays

Date: Thursday, August 27, 2020

Location: Sahlen Field in Buffalo, NY

TV: NESN/RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Red Sox (+158) Blue Jays (-172)

Alex Verdugo and the Boston Red Sox (10-20, 5th in AL East) are headed to Sahlen Field on Thursday where they'll take on the Toronto Blue Jays (14-14, 3rd in AL East). The moneyline on this game has the Red Sox coming in at +158 and the Blue Jays are at -172. The O/U has been set at 10.5. The pitchers taking the mound are Chris Mazza and Hyun Jin Ryu.

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

8/25/2020 Nathan Eovaldi SP Calf Expected to be out until at least Aug 29
8/25/2020 Andrew Benintendi LF Ribs Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
8/1/2020 Eduardo Rodriguez SP Illness Out for the season
7/7/2020 Dustin Pedroia 2B Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
6/28/2020 Chris Sale SP Elbow Out for the season

Key Toronto Blue Jays Injuries

8/25/2020 Nate Pearson SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/25/2020 Travis Shaw 3B Knee Probable for Aug 26
8/25/2020 Bo Bichette SS Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
8/25/2020 Derek Fisher RF Quadriceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 27
8/24/2020 Trent Thornton SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/24/2020 Elvis Luciano RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/24/2020 Ken Giles RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 7
8/24/2020 Matt Shoemaker SP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/16/2020 Yennsy Diaz RP Lat Expected to be out until at least Aug 26

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Red Sox have a 10-20 overall record this season. Mazza (1-2 career mark) has a FIP of 3.81 while facing 102 opposing batters in the majors. His ERA is 5.92 (14 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.784. He has allowed 30 hits (12.7 hits per nine innings) and has 8 walks. Mazza has taken the ball for 21 innings and has earned 18 K's in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.59 and they have given up 154 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .241 against the bullpen and they've struck out 159 hitters and walked 62 batters. As a team, Boston allows 10.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 30th in the league in team earned run average at 5.92. The Red Sox pitchers collectively have given up 293 base hits and 172 earned runs. They have allowed 49 home runs this season, ranking them 2nd in the league. Boston as a pitching staff has walked 126 batters and struck out 260. They have walked 4.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.60 and their FIP as a unit is 5.22.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Boston is hitting .255, good for 9th in the league. The Red Sox hold a .427 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .322, which is good for 18th in baseball. They rank 5th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Alex Verdugo is hitting .303 with an on-base percentage of .373. He has 30 hits this season in 99 at bats with 12 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .535 and an OPS+ of 140. Rafael Devers is hitting .230 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .281. He has totaled 26 hits and he has driven in 15 men in 113 at bats. His OPS+ is 83 while his slugging percentage is at .416. The Red Sox have 265 hits, including 60 doubles and 36 home runs. Boston has walked 91 times so far this season and they have struck out 268 times as a unit. They have left 201 men on base and have a team OPS of .748. They score 4.73 runs per contest and have scored a total of 142 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Toronto has a 14-14 overall mark this year. During his pro baseball career, Ryu has given up 721 hits while totaling 698 K's in 771 innings. He has allowed 256 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.159 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.4. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 4.03 and he has faced 3,149 opposing hitters thus far in his career. Ryu (56-34 career mark) has earned a 2.99 ERA and has given up 8.4 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.40 and they have given up 103 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .187 against the Blue Jays bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 144 batters and walked 69 opposing hitters. As a team, Toronto allows 7.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.2 batters per nine innings. They are 8th in the league in team earned run average at 4.04. The Blue Jays pitchers as a team have surrendered 215 base knocks and 111 earned runs this season. They have given up 31 home runs this year, which ranks 26th in Major League Baseball. Toronto as a staff has walked 119 hitters and struck out 252 batters. They give up a walk 4.3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.2 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.35 while their FIP as a staff is 4.25.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .249, good for 12th in the league. The Blue Jays hold a .446 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .315, which is good for 22nd in baseball. They rank 11th in MLB with 8.5 hits per contest. Randal Grichuk comes into this matchup batting .302 with an OBP of .343. He has 29 hits this year along with 19 RBI in 96 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .573 with an OPS+ of 141. Cavan Biggio is hitting .279 this season and he has an OBP of .405. He has collected 29 hits in 104 at bats while driving in 16 runs. He has an OPS+ of 148 and a slugging percentage of .519. The Blue Jays as a unit have 239 base hits, including 41 doubles and 48 homers. Toronto has walked 92 times this year and they have struck out on 236 occasions. They have had 187 men left on base and have an OPS of .761. They have scored 4.64 runs per game and totaled 130 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Red Sox/Blue Jays MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Red Sox (+158)

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