The last week’s three-game series between the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays at Minute Maid Park in Houston was a joy to watch. The Jays won it 2-1, and all three contests were decided by one run. This time around, the Stars head to Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, so let’s see what’s the best Astros vs Blue Jays betting pick for Friday night’s opener of a three-game set in Canada.
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Astros vs Blue Jays FanDuel Betting Pick
This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 1:10 PM ET on Thursday, April 28, 2022.
Why Bet The Blue Jays:
✅ Jose Urquidy (1-1; 5.19 ERA; 1.36 WHIP) will get the ball and face the Blue Jays for the second time in 2022. Last Saturday, the 26-year-old right-hander took a no-decision in a 3-2 defeat to Toronto, yielding a pair of earned runs on six hits and a walk across 5.2 frames of work. Urquidy is now 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA in three career starts against the Blue Jays. He tossed 11.1 innings against Toronto in 2021 and posted a pedestrian 6.35 ERA, as the Jays took him deep four times. The current Blue Jays are slashing .313/.345/.522 in 44 at-bats against Urquidy.
✅ Yusei Kikuchi, who’ll get the nod for the Jays, threw 3.2 innings of a two-run ball in last week’s 8-7 defeat at Houston but didn’t factor in the decision. The 30-year-old left-hander is 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA and 1.75 WHIP in 2022, but he owns a solid record against the current Astros, allowing a .214/.318/.416 triple-slash across 143 at-bats. Houston has struggled against the lefties so far this season, hitting only .197/.289/.332 in 178 at-bats.
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✅ The Astros’ offense is off to a slow start. Houston ranks 24th in the majors in batting average (.209), 23rd in on-base percentage (.285), and 18th in slugging percentage (.356). With the runners in scoring position, the Astros are slashing only .206/.313/.310. On the other side, the Blue Jays have recorded the ninth-highest OPS in baseball over the last seven days (.712) while smacking ten home runs in six outings.
Houston Astros
The Astros improved to 9-9 on the season with a 4-3 victory at the Texas Rangers last Wednesday. Thursday’s contests have been excluded from this preview, and the Astros were looking to clinch a four-game set at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Over the last seven days, the Astros’ bullpen has struggled a bit and posted a 4.19 ERA while striking out only 7.45 per nine frames. Houston certainly needs more from its offense. Jose Altuve is sidelined with a hamstring injury, so he’ll have to wait for a chance to improve his awful .167/.268/.250 batting line. Yuli Gurriel (.578 OPS) and Kyle Tucker (.575 OPS) need to improve as soon as possible, too.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays suffered a 7-1 defeat to the Boston Red Sox last Wednesday. It was their second loss in the previous eight outings at any location, as the Jays fell to 12-7 on the season. They were trying to clinch a four-game home set against the Sawx on Thursday.
Toronto’s bullpen has registered an underwhelming 4.74 ERA in the past seven days. On the other side of the ball, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer have combined for nine homers and 23 RBIs since Opening Day, but the Jays need more from Bo Bichette, who’s hitting just .210/.238/.309.