The Toronto Blue Jays look to avoid being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
The pregame narrative: Last night’s contest wasn’t close, with L.A. winning 9-1. Eric Lauer has been fantastic for the Jays, and he will be tasked with shutting down the Dodgers in this series finale between two division leaders.
Check out my Blue Jays best bets vs. the Dodgers for Aug. 10, featuring prop bets on Daulton Varsho.
Blue Jays best bets vs. Dodgers
Best bet: Blue Jays ML (+165)
I think it’s time Toronto gets one back in this series.
Let’s start with a less important but still interesting stat. The Dodgers haven’t swept a team since July 1-3 when they played the Chicago White Sox. That’s nine straight series.
What’s more important is that the Blue Jays arguably have their best arm on the mound today.
Lauer has been a great addition for Toronto. He started the season in the bullpen, but has more than earned his spot in the rotation after 61.1 innings as a starter.
- 5-2
- 3.08 ERA
- 9.1 K/9
- 4.4 walk rate
Those are elite starter numbers, and it hasn’t been a fluke. According to Baseball Savant, his 3.01 xERA sits right around his actual ERA and ranks in the 87th percentile.
L.A. doesn’t have a weak spot in its rotation, so another strong arm will be opposite the Toronto bats on Sunday.
However, I have my concerns with Tyler Glasnow. He has a 12th percentile walk rate (12.0%), a first percentile chase rate (20.2%) and can be susceptible to home runs.
That sounds like a dangerous recipe against an elite Jays’ offence.
Glasnow has allowed four home runs over his last three starts.
Key stat: Lauer has a 2.83 ERA over his past 10 starts. The Jays went 8-2 in those games.
Quick pick
Varsho over 1.5 bases (+220): This is simply too good a price to pass up.
Varsho went 0-for-4 yesterday but had to deal with a lefty on the mound in Blake Snell.
But the outfielder is the prime example of a guy who enjoys a platoon advantage.
- Vs. LHPs: .200 average (.200 SLG)
- Vs. RHPs: .247 average (.708 SLG)
To put it in perspective, 18 of his 22 hits against right-handed pitchers have gone for extra bases (11 home runs). No, that isn’t a typo.
Overall, he’s cleared this line in four of his last seven games and is batting .391 during that time.
The matchup is irrelevant right now. If he’s up against a righty, I want in on Varsho, and he should see Glasnow at least a few times this afternoon.
This feels like a no-brainer at more than 2-to-1.
Blue Jays best bets made at 8:35 a.m. ET on 08/10/2025.
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.