The Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays will kick off their 2013 MLB regular season campaign this Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre in the first of a three-game set. This American League matchup is slated to get underway at 7:07 p.m. (ET), and it will be available on MLB Extra Innings.

Cleveland turned in a 17-16 record during Spring Training that has to be considered a good sign after dropping like a rock over the second half last year to finish 20 games out of first place in the AL Central with an overall record of 68-94.

Toronto was able to hang tough in the highly-competitive AL East for a good part of the season in 2012, but it faded as well down the stretch with a final record of 73-89. The new-look Blue Jays finished Spring Training at 16-17.

Indians at Blue Jays Betting Storylines

The Indians bats let them down over the second half on the 2012 season to finish the year ranked ninth in the AL in hitting with a team batting average of .251. It was ranked second to last in total runs and RBI. They have to be encouraged with a much better showing this spring, especially with Lonnie Chisenhall, who belted four home runs while knocking in 12 runs in 60 at bats.

Justin Masterson will take the mound for Cleveland on Tuesday night. The right-hander went 11-15 last season with a 4.93 ERA in 34 starts. His overall WHIP was 1.45, which was a tad bit higher than a career 1.39 WHIP. Masterson is 3-1 lifetime against the Blue Jays with an ERA of 3.00.

Toronto may have won only 73 games last season, but a complete team makeover that includes the addition of Melky Cabrera and Cy Young pitcher RA Dickey has this team listed as +160 favorites to win the division and 15/4 favorites to win the American League Pennant on Bovada’s opening-day futures odds. The transformation started last season when the Blue Jays traded for Jose Reyes to bolster an already potent line-up that includes Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.

Dickey will get the opening day start for Toronto as he tries to befuddle the AL with his knuckle ball after a stellar season mowing down batters for the Mets last season. The right-hander won 20 games in 2012 against just six losses with an overall ERA of 2.73 on his way to claiming the NL Cy Young Award. He is 2-0 with a 3.56 ERA against the Indians.

Indians at Blue Jays MLB Betting Odds and Trends

Cleveland has been opened by BetOnline as a +150 road underdog on the money line with the Blue Jays listed as -160 home favorites. The “over/under” for this game has been set at 8.

The Indians are 15-39 in their last 54 road games and 1-6 in the first game of their last seven series. The total has gone over in six of Masterson’s last nine starts on the road.

The Blue Jays are 4-1 in their last five games at home but just 3-10 in their last 13 games against a right-handed starter. The total has stayed under in five of its last six games against teams from the AL Central.

Head-to-head in this matchup, Cleveland has lost seven of the last nine meetings, including four of six last season. The total has gone over in nine of the last 14 games between the two.

Indians at Blue Jays Picks and Betting Predictions

The atmosphere is sure to be electrifying at the Rogers Centre on Tuesday night with anticipation of a return to the top of the AL running high for the home-town team. Look for Dickey to pick up where he left off against a entire group of batters that are not overly familiar with his stuff to help get things rolling with an Opening-Day win.

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Read more articles by Dave Schwab