The Toronto Blue Jays begin the season’s final series against the Miami Marlins.
The pregame narrative: There’s nothing to play for but I still expect Jose Berrios to have a strong final outing of the season. I also have eyes on the under as the Jays’ offence has burned out.
Check out the best Blue Jays picks vs. the Marlins on Sept. 27.
Blue Jays picks vs. Marlins
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Best Bet: Under 8.5 runs (-120)
Toronto’s offensive production has fallen off a cliff.
Over the past eight games, seven have stayed under this total behind either strong pitching, poor hitting or more often than not, both.
As you will find out with my quick pick, I am not worried about the Marlins’ offence either, but I want to focus on Toronto’s struggles in this section.
The Jays are 2-6 in their past eight games and are hitting .226 over that span. Offence runs through Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on most nights and there’s reason to suspect he may have a rare off night.
Although a very small sample size, Guerrero has two strikeouts in as many career meetings against Miami’s starter Adam Oller.
Overall, Toronto’s current lineup has one hit in nine plate appearances with three Ks vs. Oller.
Key stat: The under is 15-6 in Blue Jays games in September.
Quick pick
Berrios over 5.5 strikeouts (-127): Toronto’s most consistent starter has been eating innings recently, resulting in more opportunities to punch out the opposition.
Berrios has gone six-plus innings in eight straight starts, reaching the seven-inning mark five times. He’s given up a measly nine runs in that span.
The Marlins’ offence hasn’t fared well against Berrios in the past, recording seven hits and striking out 10 times in 27 plate appearances.
Berrios is usually good for a minimum of five Ks, doing so in nine of his last 10 starts. The issue is he finished with five in half of those outings.
History suggests that the Jays’ starter has the matchup to beat the hook, so I’m not concerned.
Picks made at 9:30 a.m. on 09/27/24.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.