Cincinnati Reds vs. Toronto Blue Jays Series Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Reds will travel to Toronto to continue their road trip on Friday for a three-game weekend series. Friday night’s game will be played at 7:07 p.m. at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

The Reds are in last place in the division and 12.5 games back from the NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers. Toronto is third in the AL East and eight games back from first-place New York Yankees.

The Reds have a record of 11-26, which is the worst in baseball, but they are 7-3 in their last ten games. The Blue Jays have a much better record of 20-18 but have struggled as of late, going 3-7 in their last ten games. They hope to improve on their 12-7 record at home this season.

Let’s look ahead at Friday night’s series-opening game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Betting Odds

The Toronto Blue Jays are the favorites in Game 1, giving them the 1 run advantage in their favor. This is mainly due to their record being that much better than the Reds overall, and the series being played in Toronto. The Reds have a 6-17 record on the road, which does not bode well for them in this series.

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Expected Pitching Matchup

Luis Castillo will get his third start of the season for the Reds on Friday night after sitting out the majority of the beginning of the season with shoulder soreness. Thus far, he has a no-decision against the Brewers, where he gave up three runs in 4.2 innings, and a loss to the Pirates, where he gave up three runs in five innings. His season ERA is 5.59.

Hyun Jin Ryu will take the mound for the Blue Jays, posting a 9.00 ERA in three starts. With that ERA, he is surprisingly 0-0 this season with three no-decisions.

He has given up twelve runs in the twelve innings he has pitched with eight strikeouts. His age may be playing a factor in his performance, being that his career ERA is 3.27.

For Games 2 and 3, the Reds will start Hunter Greene, who is 1-6 with a 6.21 ERA and 44 strikeouts, and Connor Overton, who is 1-0 with a 1.82 ERA and ten strikeouts.

The Blue Jays are expected to send Alex Manoah, who is 4-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 39 strikeouts, and Yusei Kikuchi, who has a record of 2-1 and an ERA of 3.38 and 33 strikeouts, to the mound for the second two games of the series.

Expected Outcome

Games 1 and 3 will be the toughest to call out of the three. Manoah seems to have a strong advantage against Greene in Game 2.

I’m going to give the Blue Jays two out of three in this series since it is on their home turf, and they have a more prolific offense than the Reds.

The Reds have been playing better lately, but there is still a lot more to show before they can win more series on the road against teams over .500.