Wednesday, September 23, 2020, Sahlen Field, Buffalo, New York, 6:37 p.m. ET
Yankees at Blue Jays Betting Preview: Yankees (-263), Blue Jays (+235)
New York Yankees
The Yankees (32-23) put up another big offensive display Tuesday in a 12-1 rout of the Blue Jays, leveling the four-game series at one win apiece.
Big numbers are nothing new for New York against Toronto. The Yankees have scored 62 runs in their five wins in the season series after Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela and Gleyber Torres were a combined 10-for-15 with five RBIs and five runs on Tuesday.
Masahiro Tanaka (3-2, 3.27 ERA) will start against Toronto for the second straight time. He allowed three runs in seven innings Thursday at New York to earn his second consecutive victory. Tanaka is 14-5 with a 2.92 ERA in 22 career starts against Toronto, having struck out 133 in 135 2/3 innings.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays (28-27) hold a 3 1/2-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels in the race for the eighth and final American League playoff spot with five days left in the regular season. Toronto could use better pitching, as the Tuesday blowout marked the seventh time in nine games its pitchers allowed at least five runs.
Robbie Ray, who is 1-1 with a 5.94 ERA in four appearances for Toronto, will get the start Wednesday. Ray last pitched Friday at Philadelphia, and he gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings, continuing his trend of alternating good appearances with bad appearances.
Ray is allowing right-handed hitters to bat .292 this year ahead of his matchup with the Yankees, who feature predominantly right-handed batters. He won his lone previous start against New York, when he gave up two runs in seven innings back in 2016.
Yankees at Blue Jays Betting Pick for September 23, 2020
The Yankees have consistently put up big offensive numbers against the Blue Jays, and it’s likely they will do so again as they try to get fourth place in the American League. Pitching in Buffalo can be tricky for many pitchers, and that helps Toronto’s offense, but ultimately look for the Yankees to get the win.
Yankees at Blue Jays Betting Pick:
Yankees 11, Blue Jays 6
Yankees at Blue Jays Best Bet for September 23, 2020
Low-scoring affairs are rare in Buffalo, and with the weather getting cooler, expect that trend to continue. The first two games of this series has seen the teams combine for 29 runs, which makes taking the over a good bet.
Yankees at Blue Jays Best Bet: Over 10 total runs (-102)
–Field Level Media
