Rangers vs Blue Jays Predictions, Picks, Odds: Texas Takes Round 1 at Rogers Centre

There’s high-stakes September baseball on tap at Rogers Centre this week — and the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers start a crucial series tonight, with the AL Wild Card race reaching its boiling point. 

After some shaky moments in August, the Blue Jays have muscled their way back into the mix this month thanks to a soft schedule and some clutch rallies. The hosts wrapped up a sweep of the Royals yesterday with another come-from-behind win.

Meanwhile, the Rangers, the AL West pacesetters for most of the year, are now in a major fight just to snatch a Wild Card spot after posting a 6-16 record since August 16, but back-to-back wins against the A's at the weekend was a step in the right direction.

Check out our free MLB betting picks for Rangers vs. Blue Jays for a closer look at this September 11 showdown.

Rangers vs Blue Jays odds

Rangers vs Blue Jays predictions

It says everything about the Texas Rangers’ electric start to the season that the visitors are still very much in the Wild Card race despite a wretched slump that’s stretched almost a month, but this Texas team arrives in Toronto with the chance to salvage the season and take back control of its playoff hopes this week. I expect that urgency to be very apparent in this series opener. 

Though the Toronto Blue Jays have won eight of their past 10 games after a fruitful West Coast road trip and the weekend sweep against the Royals, this series is a big step up — just as expectations are soaring again.

And the red flags are there. The hosts are unlikely to get away with some of their barren patches at the plate (they’ve been shut out through five innings in three of their last six games) and they’re facing a Rangers lineup that still leads the AL in runs, hits, and batting average.

Picking Texas in this spot is less about the starting matchup — solid Rangers starter Dane Dunning was roughed up by the Astros in his last start and now faces an in-form Chris Bassitt — and more about the potential of the visitors’ bats to make some noise after a 9-run effort against the A’s yesterday.

Still, it’s also worth noting that Texas got the better of Bassitt earlier this season, scoring five runs on seven hits as the Toronto starter didn’t get out of the fourth inning.

There are sure to be plenty of twists and turns in a four-game series that should have a playoff atmosphere, but I’m grabbing these MLB odds for the Rangers to land the first blow.

My best bet: Rangers moneyline (+125 at SIA)

Rangers vs Blue Jays same-game parlay

Rangers ML (+115)

Over 7.5 (-190)

George Springer to record a hit (-250)

+325 at bet365

The formula for a Texas win tonight starts with their marquee hitters showing up, so I’m adding the Over on 7.5 runs. The Rangers’ bats are poised to heat up again (12 hits yesterday) after a quiet month, while Toronto scored five runs in each of its three games against Kansas City.

George Springer’s mid-season slump is becoming a distant memory and he’s coming off a two-HR outing on Saturday, plus another hit yesterday. Springer’s batting average sits at .310 over his past 31 games, including six homers and eight doubles, and I see him as the likeliest Blue Jay to do damage tonight.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Rangers vs Blue Jays moneyline and Over/Under analysis

The Blue Jays get the favorites tag as they try to add to a 7-2 mark this month, but they’ve made hard work of a generous schedule over that stretch.

While some of Toronto’s injury worries are easing, Danny Jansen is out for the rest of the regular season and this series opener will likely come too soon for Matt Chapman. Erik Swanson is at least expected back in the bullpen tonight.

The formbook points to the hosts, but I’ve laid out the case for the visitors above. Even though they’ve been scuffling at the plate lately, the Rangers have the type of offense that can take over a game — and the Blue Jays have hardly been invincible at home (6-8 in August).

While Toronto’s last two games both featured fewer than eight runs, the hosts have scored 5+ runs in eight of their nine contests this month. The teams’ prior meeting was an 11-7 runfest in mid-June.

Plus, this Rangers offense could be on the upswing again after yesterday’s 9-4 win. Former Blue Jay Marcus Semien is fresh off a 2-HR, four-hit masterclass, while Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe also had multi-hit days.

Trend to know

The Blue Jays have been slow starters at Rogers Centre over the past few months — their first-five team total Under has hit in 19 of their last 31 home games. Find more MLB betting trends for Rangers vs. Blue Jays

Rangers vs Blue Jays game info

Starting pitchers

Dane Dunning (9-6, 3.88 ERA): Dunning’s numbers have fallen off since some electric early season form (2.06 ERA through April and May) and there wasn’t much to like about his relief outing against Houston on Tuesday (nine runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings), but he can still challenge hitters — he got through seven innings or more twice in August, giving up just a single run in each of those games.

Chris Bassitt (14-7, 3.69 ERA): The recent formbook gives Bassitt a clear edge tonight in this starting matchup. He’s got through eight innings in his past two starts and his ERA dips to an impressive 2.80 at Rogers Centre. Still, the Rangers will have fond memories of chasing Bassitt from a June matchup after just 3 2/3 innings. 

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