Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox Prediction, 9/4/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs Boston Red Sox

Date: Friday, September 4, 2020

Location: Fenway Park in Boston, MA

TV: NESN/RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jays (-120) Red Sox (+110)

Xander Bogaerts and the Boston Red Sox (12-25, 5th in AL East) host the Toronto Blue Jays (19-16, 3rd in AL East) at Fenway Park on Friday. The odds on this matchup have the Blue Jays priced at -120 and the Red Sox are at +110. The total is set at 8.5. The pitchers expected to start will be Tanner Roark and Zack Godley.

Key Toronto Blue Jays Injuries

8/31/2020 Jordan Romano RP Finger Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
8/31/2020 Elvis Luciano RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Sep 11
8/30/2020 Matt Shoemaker SP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
8/28/2020 Bo Bichette SS Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 11
8/27/2020 Trent Thornton SP Elbow Out for the season
8/26/2020 Yennsy Diaz RP Lat Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
8/25/2020 Nate Pearson SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/24/2020 Ken Giles RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 7

Key Boston Red Sox Injuries

9/3/2020 Nathan Eovaldi SP Calf Expected to be out until at least Sep 6
9/2/2020 Andrew Benintendi LF Ribs Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
9/2/2020 Darwinzon Hernandez RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 18
9/1/2020 Dustin Pedroia 2B Knee Out for the season
8/1/2020 Eduardo Rodriguez SP Illness Out for the season
6/28/2020 Chris Sale SP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Blue Jays have a 19-16 overall record this season. Roark has taken the ball for 1,127 frames and is sitting with 912 strikeouts so far in his career. His ERA is 3.75 (469 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.250. He has conceded 1,080 base hits (8.6 hits per nine innings) with 329 walks. Roark (76-65 career record) has earned a FIP of 4.14 while he has faced 4,705 opposing batters in the majors. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.10 and they have given up 128 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .189 against the bullpen and they've struck out 173 hitters and walked 77 batters. As a team, Toronto allows 7.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.2 batters per nine innings. They are 5th in the league in team earned run average at 3.6. The Blue Jays pitchers collectively have given up 269 base hits and 125 earned runs. They have allowed 37 home runs this season, ranking them 27th in the league. Toronto as a pitching staff has walked 136 batters and struck out 319. They have walked 3.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.2 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.30 and their FIP as a unit is 4.00.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Toronto is hitting .246, good for 15th in the league. The Blue Jays hold a .436 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .313, which is good for 23rd in baseball. They rank 12th in MLB with 8.4 hits per game. Travis Shaw is hitting .213 with an on-base percentage of .295. He has 20 hits this season in 94 at bats with 8 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .340 and an OPS+ of 73. Vladimir Guerrero Jr is hitting .267 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .338. He has totaled 35 hits and he has driven in 17 men in 131 at bats. His OPS+ is 114 while his slugging percentage is at .458. The Blue Jays have 294 hits, including 57 doubles and 55 home runs. Toronto has walked 115 times so far this season and they have struck out 292 times as a unit. They have left 226 men on base and have a team OPS of .749. They score 4.63 runs per contest and have scored a total of 162 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Boston has a 12-25 overall mark this year. Godley (37-33 win-loss mark in his career) has a 4.82 earned run average while allowing 8.8 hits per 9 innings. He has a SO/W ratio of 2.33 and he has gone up against 2,439 opposing batters so far in his career. So far in his MLB career, Godley has allowed 549 base knocks while tallying 538 K's in 562 innings. He has given up 301 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.388 and a FIP of 4.3. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.65 and they have given up 199 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .245 against the Red Sox bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 194 batters and walked 78 opposing hitters. As a team, Boston allows 10.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings. They are 30th in the league in team earned run average at 6.18. The Red Sox pitchers as a team have surrendered 378 base knocks and 222 earned runs this season. They have given up 65 home runs this year, which ranks 1st in Major League Baseball. Boston as a staff has walked 150 hitters and struck out 314 batters. They give up a walk 4.2 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.7 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.63 while their FIP as a staff is 5.36.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .255, good for 10th in the league. The Red Sox hold a .429 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which is good for 19th in baseball. They rank 8th in MLB with 8.8 hits per contest. Xander Bogaerts comes into this matchup batting .291 with an OBP of .355. He has 37 hits this year along with 23 RBI in 127 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .543 with an OPS+ of 137. J.D. Martinez is hitting .218 this season and he has an OBP of .305. He has collected 27 hits in 124 at bats while driving in 17 runs. He has an OPS+ of 85 and a slugging percentage of .387. The Red Sox as a unit have 325 base hits, including 78 doubles and 44 homers. Boston has walked 105 times this year and they have struck out on 335 occasions. They have had 244 men left on base and have an OPS of .747. They have scored 4.59 runs per game and totaled 170 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Red Sox (+110)

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