The Toronto Blue Jays kick off their second half with a three-game set against the San Francisco Giants.
The pregame narrative: Toronto leads the AL East coming out of the all-star break for the first time since 2000, and is favoured to win on Friday behind Chris Bassitt. San Francisco counters with Justin Verlander, who has thrown two no-hitters at Rogers Centre in his Hall of Fame career.
Check out my Giants vs. Blue Jays picks for July 18, featuring Bassitt and George Springer.
Giants vs. Blue Jays picks
Best Bet: Springer to score (-125)
The Blue Jays have been the hottest team in baseball over the last 30 days, posting an MLB-best 17-8 record since June 17 while averaging 5.48 runs per game.
Take a look at what Springer did during that run:
- .322/.385/.540 slash line
- 18 runs in 24 games
- 12% K rate
The veteran outfielder is seeing the ball well, rarely going down on strikes and hitting for elite power.
Springer is projected to bat second for the Jays tonight and should have plenty of opportunities to get on base against Verlander.
The 42-year-old righty has gotten smacked around this season with a 4.70 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 15 starts. Verlander’s 4.82 xERA tells us this isn’t bad luck, but rather Father Time coming for another victim.
Key stat: Springer is 6-for-16 against Verlander in his career with two home runs.
Quick picks
Bassitt over 17.5 outs (-134): I don’t love these odds but believe Bassitt will carve through a struggling Giants lineup.
- San Francisco ranks bottom three in batting average (.217), slugging percentage (.347) and wRC+ (85) over the last 30 days.
- Bassitt has logged 6.0+ IP in five of his last seven starts and has a 2.81 ERA at home.
The only person on the Giants with any success against Bassitt is Rafael Devers (8-for-17, 3 HR), who has wildly underperformed since joining via trade on June 15.
Devers is batting .202 with a .326 SLG in 25 games with SF and has reportedly been dealing with a disk injury, which has limited production.
Outside of Devers, San Francisco is 7-for-47 (.148 batting average) against Bassitt with a 34.0% K rate.
Blue Jays picks made at 10:56 a.m. ET on 07/18/2025.
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.