Clarke Schmidt will get the start for the Yankees (76-74, 39-36 home) as they host the Blue Jays (83-67, 42-33 away) at Yankee Stadium. The Blue Jays will give the starting nod to Yusei Kikuchi. Check out my prediction for game one of this AL East matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS VS NEW YORK YANKEES BETTING PICK

The Pick: New York Yankees -105

This game will be played at Yankee Stadium at 7:05 ET on Tuesday, September 19th.

WHY BET THE NEW YORK YANKEES:

  • In their previous five games, the Yankees have a record of 3-2.
  • The Yankees are 6-4 straight-up in their ten most recent games as the favorite.
  • The Yankees are 2-0 in Clarke Schmidt’s last two starts.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS STRUGGLING VS RUNLINE OF LATE

On a record of 83-67, the Blue Jays come into today’s game 3rd in the AL East. When playing at home, they are 41-34 and 42-33 on the road. Toronto has played in 46 series thus far, and have gone 26-18-2.

Yusei Kikuchi has been a reliable starter for the Mariners this season, with a record of 9-6 and an ERA of 3.81 across his 29 outings. He has allowed a home run in each of his last two appearances, resulting in a WHIP of 1.25 and an OBP allowed of .298. His strikeout to walk ratio is 163/45.

The Blue Jays were unable to come out on top when Yusei Kikuchi took the mound, as they were defeated by the Texas Rangers 10-0. The Japanese pitcher went five innings, surrendering six earned runs off of five hits.

In their ten most recent games, the Blue Jays have put together a batting average of only .202, placing them 27th compared to the rest of the league. At 4.5 runs per game, Toronto is 15th in the MLB. This figure has come on a team batting average of .257 and OPS of .744 which has them 12th in baseball.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been a key contributor to the Blue Jays’ offensive success this season, as evidenced by his 24 home runs and .267 batting average. Over the last five games, he has led the team with three long balls.

WILL THE NEW YORK YANKEES TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

For the season, the Yankees have an overall record of 76-74, placing them 4th in the AL East. Against other AL East opponents, they are 19-27 along with going 39-36 and 37-38 at home and on the road, respectively. So far, they have played a total of 47 series, going 20-20-7.

Today marks Clarke Schmidt’s 31st appearance of the season, and his record is 9-8. His ERA is 4.56, and he has allowed a .314 OBP. He has struck out 142 batters with a WHIP of 1.34. On the road, his ERA stands at 6.59 compared to 3.98 when playing at home.

In his most recent outing against the Red Sox, Clarke Schmidt tossed 5 1/3 innings, surrendering four runs on seven hits. Although he was not credited with the win, Schmidt’s performance enabled the Yankees to secure an 8-5 victory.

During their last five games, New York is the 18th ranked offense in terms of batting average. In these games, they have hit a combined .235 and are averaging 4.6 runs per game. Across the entire season, the Yankees are hitting .226 with an OBP of .304 while averaging 4.2 runs per contest. This figure puts them 22nd in the league.

Gleyber Torres has been one of the Yankees’ most reliable offensive contributors this season. The infielder is currently batting .271 with 65 runs batted in, and has gone deep 25 times.