The Toronto Blue Jays look to end their pre-all-star slate on a high note in a rubber match against the Athletics on Sunday afternoon.
The pregame narrative: Toronto has won five series in a row and now finds itself atop the AL East standings. The Jays are eighth in wRC+ vs. left-handed pitchers (108), and they’ll face another one today.
Check out my Blue Jays picks vs. the Athletics for July 13, featuring Ernie Clement and Brent Rooker.
Blue Jays picks vs. Athletics
Best Bet: Clement over 1.5 hits (+130)
Clement cashed this bet for me yesterday at +138 odds, smacking a pair of doubles against the A’s.
With another left-hander on the mound today, how could I not go back to the well?
Clement has been among the very best hitters vs. LHPs this season, batting .394 with a 1.072 OPS. By comparison, he’s batting .243 with a .559 OPS vs. RHPs.
To put it another way, Clement has a 196 wRC+ against southpaws. That ranks fifth among 163 qualified hitters (ahead of guys like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado and Jose Ramirez).
Another reason to like Clement in this market is that he maintains a high contact rate while rarely accepting a free pass.
- 96th-percentile K rate
- 93rd-percentile whiff rate
- 22nd-percentile walk rate
Over his past 27 starts, Clement is batting .330 and has gone over 1.5 hits 13 times.
Key stat: Clement is 2-for-4 with a double and a home run against A’s left-hander Jeffrey Springs.
Quick pick
Rooker over 1.5 total bases (+100): Rooker has been fooled by Toronto starter Jose Berrios many times over, but I’m backing the slugger on Sunday based on how he’s seeing the ball right now.
- In his past 19 games, Rooker has a .306/.367/.625 slash line and is 12-7 vs. this prop. He’s averaging 2.4 bases/game in that span.
- Rooker is 4-for-7 with a home run and a double in this series vs. Toronto.
Berrios has only allowed two hits to Rooker in 12 at-bats … while striking him out seven times. But this still profiles as a decent matchup for the slugger.
Berrios is a sinkerballer, and that’s arguably Rooker’s favourite offering to hit against righties (.346 BA).
According to Baseball Savant, Rooker ranks in the 88th percentile or better in barrel rate, xBA and xSLG.
Blue Jays picks were made at 10:56 a.m. ET on 07/13/2025.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.