MLB Friday April 19th Blue Jays at Padres Betting Preview
Toronto Starts a 7-Game Road Trip
A couple of streaking teams meet up to kick off a weekend series in the April 19th Blue Jays at Padres betting matchup. Toronto (10-9) has to make the long trip to the West Coast, but they did have Thursday off and have won four of their last five.
The Padres (11-10) have played well also, winning five of six prior to a 1-0 loss in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Oddsmakers feel this one could go either way, making the Blue Jays a slight road favorite (-110) with San Diego priced at -106.
Why Toronto Has Value on Friday
The Blue Jays did have to fly across the country for Friday’s matchup, but they get lucky in the fact that the Padres also had a good jaunt getting back home from Milwaukee and both teams were able to recover from jet lag by having Thursday idle.
Toronto went 6-3 on their most recent home stand including taking two of three from the 1st place Yankees this week. The Blue Jays were consistent over their previous three series’ scoring 4+ runs in 7 of 9 games led by Daulton Varsho who has 4 HRs over his past six games.
Yariel Rodriguez (0-0, 2.45 ERA) gets the ball in the series opener for the Blue Jays making his second career start. In his MLB debut on Saturday, the right-hander lasted only 3.2 IP but did allow just a solo HR in a 5-3 victory over the Rockies.
Why San Diego Has Value on Friday
The Padres hope they maintain some of the momentum from a successful road trip that saw them take two of three from the Dodgers and two of three from the Brewers – both first place teams.
The last time the Padres played at Petco Park they had a 10-run and a 9-run outing in a series win over the Cubs so they should be just fine heading back home also. San Diego should also be getting Jake Cronenworth (Q-calf) after he’s missed the last two games in Milwaukee and they have Manny Machado who is in the zone with an 11-game hit streak.
The Padres will have to get creative with their pitching rotation with Yu Darvish (neck) heading to the 15-day IL. That puts Matt Waldron (0-1, 3.14 ERA) on the bump Friday for his fourth start of the season. The right-hander has been good in his last two, giving up just 6 hits and 1 ER over his last 10.1 IP.
Free April 19th Blue Jays at Padres Betting Pick
We’ll see how Rodriguez does for Toronto in his first career road start and against the likes of Machado, Fernando Tatis, Jr., and Xander Bogaerts. Waldron has been very consistent in his last two starts for the Padres, and San Diego has some nice momentum after knocking off a couple of first place teams in the Dodgers and Brewers – both on the road.
Free Pick: Padres -106
