The Toronto Blue Jays will make their first visit of the season to Yankees Stadium for an extended four-game weekend set against New York starting Thursday night. Game 1 of this AL East showdown is slated to get underway at 7:10 p.m. (ET), and it will be broadcast nationally on the MLB Network.

It has not been the start that most people envisioned for the AL East favorites, as Toronto has stumbled out of the gate to 8-13 start heading into Wednesday’s game against Baltimore. The Blue Jays have already lost the first two games of that series, and they are just 3-7 in their last 10 games.

New York’s slow start is a thing of the past after climbing back over .500 to 11-8 on the year. So far this week, it has split the first two games of a three-game road series against Tampa Bay and returns home with a 5-4 record at Yankee Stadium this season.

Blue Jays at Yankees Betting Storylines

Toronto’s bats have failed to live up to expectations so far with a team batting average of just .226. It is tied for 10th in the AL in scoring with an average of 3.6 runs a game. The one bright spot has been JP Arencibia, who leads the team with 13 RBI and seven home runs. Melky Cabrera has a team-high 22 hits and is batting .265 but has only has six RBI to show for the effort. Other than an eight-run outburst earlier this month against New York, the Blue Jays have not scored more than four runs in any of their last 10 games.

Mark Buehrie is expected to get the start for Toronto on Thursday night. The left-hander gave up 11 earned runs in his first two starts this season but has returned to form in his last two. Last Saturday he held New York to two earned runs on seven hits in seven full innings of work but failed to get the decision. Overall, he is 1-8 against the Yankees with a 6.03 ERA.

The Yankees’ current injury report almost reads like its starting lineup, with Kevin Youkilis, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeria and Curtis Granderson currently on the shelf. Youkilis is listed as “doubtful” for this contest, and the others remain on the DL. Pressing on in their absence, New York continues to knock the ball around the park with 93 runs this season including 23 in its last five games. Robinson Cano has come up big so far with a .342 batting average that has produced six home runs and 14 RBI. Travis Hafner, Vernon Wells and Brett Gardner have combined to knock in 30 runs as well.

New York will counter with Hiroki Kuroda as its starter for the series opener. The right-hander has been sensational so far with a 2-1 record in four starts and boasts an ERA of 2.35 and a 1.00 WHIP. Against the Blue Jays his last time out, Kuroda allowed just one earned run on three hits in 7.1 innings of work. Lifetime against Toronto he is 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA.

Blue Jays at Yankees MLB Betting Odds and Trends

Toronto has been opened by BetOnline as a +143 road underdogs on the money line with the Yankees listed as -153 home favorites. The “over/under” for this game has been set at 8.5.

The Blue Jays are 4-10 in Game 1 of their last 14 series and 1-5 in their last six games against the division. The total has stayed under in nine of their last 11 games.

The Yankees are 5-2 in their last seven home games and 6-2 in Kuroda’s last eight starts in the first game of a new series. The total has stayed under in their last seven home games.

Head-to-head in this matchup, Toronto is 3-7 in the last 10 meetings overall and 7-19 in its last 26 road games against New York. Earlier this month, the Yankees took two of three on the road and are now 4-2 in the last six meetings. The total went over in two of the three games in that first series between the two.

Blue Jays at Yankees Picks and Betting Predictions

This should be a great matchup on the mound between two starters that come into this game in excellent form. You have to give the overall edge to New York given some of the past trends in this series along with much better production at the plate as of late. It all adds up to a Yankees’ win on Thursday night against their division rivals.

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Read more articles by Dave Schwab