The Toronto Blue Jays look to avoid a sweep when they take on the Milwaukee Brewers at Rogers Centre on Sunday.
The pregame narrative: Toronto’s bullpen imploded again yesterday, shrinking the Jays’ AL East lead to two games. The MLB-best Brewers trot out Brandon Woodruff for today’s matinee opposite Max Scherzer, who has the home team slightly favoured.
Check out my Brewers vs. Blue Jays SGP predictions for Aug. 31, featuring Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Andrew Vaughn.
Brewers vs. Blue Jays predictions
Parlay: Blue Jays moneyline | Guerrero over 1.5 bases | Vaughn over 0.5 hits (+410)
Blue Jays moneyline (-122): This has been a massively disappointing series for the Jays, who were looking to test their mettle against MLB’s top team.
Toronto has scored just three runs across two contests, losing both despite getting great pitching from Shane Bieber and Kevin Gausman. But the good news is, it has a chance to salvage the weekend, which I expect to happen.
Scherzer has been a beast for the Jays in August, sporting a 2.61 ERA across five starts. In that span, he stymied the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Kansas City Royals.
Woodruff, meanwhile, has a 4.00 ERA this month and has struggled with his command and keeping the ball in the yard.
Toronto’s 44-24 home record tops the AL.
MLB SGP legs
Guerrero over 1.5 bases (+102): Guerrero is ice cold right now, but I like the value on him to snap out of it against Woodruff.
He’s hitless in his last four games but has largely been destroying right-handed pitching since the all-star break:
- .340/.390/.632 splits
- 17 extra-base hits
- 16.1% K rate
- 179 wRC+
Big players step up in big moments, and I trust Vladdy to come through in this series finale.
Vaughn over 0.5 hits (-205): Vaughn has been nothing short of spectacular since joining the Brewers in early July.
The 2019 No. 3 overall pick is slashing .292/.361/.497 in 44 games, and has already generated more WAR (1.1) than he did in 610 games with the White Sox (-0.6).
Turns out, leaving a terrible organization can do wonders for a player.
Vaughn has done most of his damage against southpaws this year, but has still been consistent enough against this line that I believe he’s worth adding in.
Vaughn has a hit in 21 of 28 games this month.
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Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.