One of the hottest teams in the MLB, the Cleveland Indians, is about to embark in a tough quest when they visit the Toronto Blue Jays for a four-game weekend series set to kick off on Thursday in Canada. The Blue Jays (42-37) are in third place in the American League East, 5 ½ games behind Baltimore after their 14-9 win over Colorado on Tuesday. The Indians (46-30) lead the American League Central by six games and are riding an 11-game winning streak after their 5-3 win over the Braves on Tuesday, which places them as one of the top candidates to win their division according to the latest MLB betting odds.
Cleveland vs Toronto Prediction and MLB Betting Pick
When: Thursday, June 30, 2016, 7:07pm Eastern time
Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto
TV: STOh, RSN
Radio: WMMS 100.7 FM Cleveland, SN590 AM Toronto
Live Stream: MLB.tv
OpeningMLB Odds: TBA
Pitching Matchup: Carlos Carrasco (3-2, 2.73 ERA) (CLE) vs R.A. Dickey (5-8, 4.23 ERA) (TOR)
Why should you bet on Cleveland?
Carlos Carrasco is one of the best young pitchers in all of baseball, and he showed it on Saturday, hurling a complete game shutout of the Detroit Tigers, scattering four hits and throwing 82 strikes in 117 pitches. In his last three starts, he posted a combined 1.61 ERA. Josh Donaldson is the only Blue Jay who has ever hit a home run off Carrasco, and only five Blue Jays have ever even gotten a base hit off him. The Tribe are riding Carlos Santana’s hot bat, as his single was the hit that broke the tie in their ninth-inning comeback against the Braves on Tuesday. Cleveland has not had a winning streak this long in 34 years.
Why should you put your money on the Blue Jays?
When veteran pitcher R.A. Dickey is having a good day, he is almost unhittable. His knuckle ball comes in at fastball speed, making life miserable for batters (and for his catcher sometimes as well). While his record has not been that solid this year — including surrendering four home runs his last time out against the Chicago White Sox — he does have a 4-2 lifetime record and a 3.14 career ERA against Cleveland in 13 appearances, including seven starts. No Indian with more than 9 at-bats against Dickie has an average over .286 against him, and Santana is .091 lifetime against the knuckleballer.
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
I like the Indians to stay on their roll. When Dickey’s knuckleball isn’t finding the plate, he has to rely on an average fastball, which is why teams hit him so hard. I like Cleveland to win, 5-3.
