The Toronto Blue Jays picked up right where they left off last year, at least offensively, winning the first two games of their season-opening series with the Texas Rangers before blowing a lead in the fourth inning of the final game Sunday afternoon. That left them with a 2-1 record to start the season.
It was a solid start, but the collapse Sunday was especially disappointing for a team that came into the year as +1000 to win the World Series at DraftKings Sportsbook Ontario. They are currently +850. You can take advantage of those odds or similar ones on Ontario sports betting apps.
The regulated and competitive Ontario sports betting market launched April 4, in time for the start of the MLB season. The Jays should be popular with Ontario sports bettors, who often look favorably on their local teams.
Toronto starts a key AL East series Monday in New York against the Yankees, who won two of three against the Boston Red Sox to open the season. The Jays are -110 on the moneyline against the Yankees on Monday night in New York, with the over/under at 9.5 runs and the run line at +1.5, according to bet365 Canada.
Updated World Series Odds
| ⭐ Los Angeles Dodgers | +475 |
| ⭐ Toronto Blue Jays | +850 | ⭐ Houston Astros | +950 |
| ⭐ New York Yankees | +950 |
| ⭐ Atlanta Braves | +1000 |
Offensive Fireworks to Begin Season
Against Texas, the Blue Jays’ offense was excellent, with 20 runs over the three games including seven homers. The highlight? Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 467-foot blast in Sunday's loss, the longest and hardest hit HR of his young career.
New third baseman Matt Chapman also had his first home run as a Blue Jay in the last game of the series and Teoscar Hernandez, Bo Bichette, George Springer and Danny Jansen (twice) also went yard in the series. The offensive explosions were needed in the first game, spurring the Jays to a big comeback win after falling behind 7-0.
This is a trend Ontario bettors and fans will want to pay attention to all year long, as the Blue Jays’ ability to pile up runs in bunches will lead them to be a team that can come back from any deficit at any time. This was also evident in Game 3 on Sunday, as they jumped out to a big lead early with four runs in the first inning. But it was their turn to cough up a lead, showing bettors no deficit or lead will be safe all season long.
Pitching Could Be a Concern
The pitching was a concern all series, with Opening Day starter Jose Berrios having a rough start to his season and Hyun Jin Ryu struggling to build upon a strong start in the third game, allowing four straight hits in the fourth inning before exiting.
These rough starts sandwiched a fine performance by Kevin Gausman, whose first start as a Blue Jay was a 4-3 win that saw him allow three runs in the third inning. But it was an otherwise fine performance, punctuated by five strikeouts across five innings pitched. The bullpen was excellent in the first two games but faltered in the third.
Overall the bullpen was fine, but it was called upon much too early and often as Berrios didn’t even make it out of the first inning and Ryu also had a short outing. Alek Manoah and Yusei Kikuchi are on tap to start the next two games, and Manager Charlie Montoya will be hoping they can work deeper into the games against the Yankees.
Bet the Over on Jays
What does this mean for betting on the Blue Jays going forward? For one, the overs will always have a chance, especially in home games at Rogers Centre. Betting on the Blue Jays to win live once they go down could also be profitable for bettors as this offense has already shown early it can get scorching hot.
Guerrero was particularly impressive as the 23-year-old not only hit the monster home run, but had a .455 average in the series. He was quite comfortable taking what the opposing pitchers gave him, sending a couple of balls the other way and not chasing pitches.
Continuing to improve these aspects of his overall game will help his MVP chances, an award he entered the season with +450 odds to win. Betting on Guerrerro’s individual home run prop is also a route bettors can take if they want nightly ways to make money on the young slugger as his power has clearly improved since last year.
Bichette also showed some pop with his home run in the middle game and was excellent defensively as well, a performance that showed he can also make some noise in the run for AL MVP this season.
Toronto will look to continue as a World Series favorite with the four-game series against the Yankees followed by a three-game set against Oakland on Friday, Saturday and Sunday back home.
