Now or never for Halladay and Blue Jays
Now or never for Halladay and Blue Jays
Will there be a Doctor in the house much longer for Toronto? Trade rumors started to swirl around Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay before the All-Star break, and they could reach fever pitch with the big right-hander scheduled to start this Sunday against the Red Sox. It's a huge series for the Blue Jays who have seen their fast start fizzle out recently, dropping two games below .500 on the season and 11 games behind Boston.
So much for the Toronto Blue Jays contending in the American League East. Picked by most handicappers and their brother to finish either fourth or fifth in the division prior to the season, the Jays roared out to a 27-19 start. Toronto was ahead of the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays as late as May 23, and was in the playoff hunt through most of June.
After going 3-12 against the moneyline over their last 15 games before the All-Star break, the Jays are back in familiar territory – fourth in the AL East. To make matters all the more depressing for their many backers north of the border, team brass is seriously entertaining offers for ace pitcher and de facto franchise face Roy Halladay.
Boston (-120) at Toronto (+100)
Game 1 Friday, July 17, 7:07 p.m. (ET)
Game 2 Saturday, July 18, 1:07 p.m.
Game 3 Sunday, July 19, 1:07 p.m.
Halladay has the chance to go up against one of his suitors when the Blue Jays (44-46, -5.11 units) host the Red Sox (54-34, +9.84 units) in a three-game set this weekend at Rogers Centre. The Doctor (10-3, 2.85 ERA) gets the ball for Cito Gaston in Sunday afternoon’s series finale (1:07 PM ET), and faces Jon Lester (8-6, 3.87 ERA) and his Boston teammates for the first time this season. Thing is, he could be in the other dugout by the time the teams see each other again in August.
Lester has pitched well against the Jays this season, picking up the win in a pair of BoSox victories back in May. The lefthander allowed one run over six innings in Boston’s (-122) 8-2 road payday on May 31, which came on the heels of his 6 1-3 inning, one-run performance in the Red Sox’ 5-1 triumph as -177 chalk at Fenway Park on May 21.
Overall, Boston is 12-6 against the moneyline in Lester’s 18 starts this season, during which he’s up +3.02 units for bettors. Lester was at his best right before the Midsummer Classic, with a 2-0 record and 0.42 ERA over his last three outings. Halladay, on the other hand, stumbled (by his lofty standards) into his All-Star Game start, with Toronto going 0-3 during his three trips to the mound before the break.
The BoSox lead the season series 4-2, although the Jays took two of three from Boston when the clubs met in Toronto at the end of May. Dating back to last season, Red Sox bettors have made a small killing shooting down the Blue Jays, with eight moneyline paydays in the last 11 games between the teams. Boston has also bucked its typical homer trend since the beginning of June, with 12 wins in its last 16 contests away from Fenway Park.
The Red Sox currently lead the Yankees by three games in the AL East after cashing three straight and six of their last eight games before the All-Star break. Boston has the added benefit of a healthy Mike Lowell, who is expected to come off the 15-day disabled list for Friday night’s series opener (7:07 PM ET) after missing 14 games because of his ailing hip.
The Jays aren’t so fortunate on the injury front, with starting pitchers Scott Richmond (shoulder), Casey Janssen (shoulder) and Shaun Marcum (elbow) all on the 15-day disabled list. That’s on top of injuries to starters Dustin McGowan (shoulder) and Jesse Litsch (elbow), who are both out for the season.
In the absence of most of their starting pitchers from the preseason depth chart, rookie lefthander Ricky Romero (7-3, 3.00 ERA) has performed admirably this season. Not expected to pitch above Triple-A Las Vegas this season, Romero toes in the rubber in Game 1 against BoSox righthander Clay Buchholz, who makes his first start of the year with the big club. The cynic in me thinks Boston is showing Buchholz to the Toronto front office in the hopes of landing Halladay.
Oddsmakers opened Romero and the Jays as -130 chalk for Friday night’s game, with the Red Sox priced at +110 underdogs. The total was set at 9.5.
Boston righthander Brad Penny (6-3, 4.71 ERA) goes up against Toronto southpaw Brian Tallet (5-6, 4.95 ERA) in Saturday afternoon’s second game (1:07 PM ET). Penny surrendered two earned runs over six innings on his way to a no-decision in the BoSox’ (-101) 5-3 loss at Rogers Centre on May 30, while Tallet (7 IP, 3 ER) picked up the win with the Jays as -107 favorites.
Will there be a Doctor in the house much longer for Toronto? Trade rumors started to swirl around Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay before the All-Star break, and they could reach fever pitch with the big right-hander scheduled to start this Sunday against the Red Sox. It's a huge series for the Blue Jays who have seen their fast start fizzle out recently, dropping two games below .500 on the season and 11 games behind Boston.
So much for the Toronto Blue Jays contending in the American League East. Picked by most handicappers and their brother to finish either fourth or fifth in the division prior to the season, the Jays roared out to a 27-19 start. Toronto was ahead of the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays as late as May 23, and was in the playoff hunt through most of June.
After going 3-12 against the moneyline over their last 15 games before the All-Star break, the Jays are back in familiar territory – fourth in the AL East. To make matters all the more depressing for their many backers north of the border, team brass is seriously entertaining offers for ace pitcher and de facto franchise face Roy Halladay.
Boston (-120) at Toronto (+100)
Game 1 Friday, July 17, 7:07 p.m. (ET)
Game 2 Saturday, July 18, 1:07 p.m.
Game 3 Sunday, July 19, 1:07 p.m.
Halladay has the chance to go up against one of his suitors when the Blue Jays (44-46, -5.11 units) host the Red Sox (54-34, +9.84 units) in a three-game set this weekend at Rogers Centre. The Doctor (10-3, 2.85 ERA) gets the ball for Cito Gaston in Sunday afternoon’s series finale (1:07 PM ET), and faces Jon Lester (8-6, 3.87 ERA) and his Boston teammates for the first time this season. Thing is, he could be in the other dugout by the time the teams see each other again in August.
Lester has pitched well against the Jays this season, picking up the win in a pair of BoSox victories back in May. The lefthander allowed one run over six innings in Boston’s (-122) 8-2 road payday on May 31, which came on the heels of his 6 1-3 inning, one-run performance in the Red Sox’ 5-1 triumph as -177 chalk at Fenway Park on May 21.
Overall, Boston is 12-6 against the moneyline in Lester’s 18 starts this season, during which he’s up +3.02 units for bettors. Lester was at his best right before the Midsummer Classic, with a 2-0 record and 0.42 ERA over his last three outings. Halladay, on the other hand, stumbled (by his lofty standards) into his All-Star Game start, with Toronto going 0-3 during his three trips to the mound before the break.
The BoSox lead the season series 4-2, although the Jays took two of three from Boston when the clubs met in Toronto at the end of May. Dating back to last season, Red Sox bettors have made a small killing shooting down the Blue Jays, with eight moneyline paydays in the last 11 games between the teams. Boston has also bucked its typical homer trend since the beginning of June, with 12 wins in its last 16 contests away from Fenway Park.
The Red Sox currently lead the Yankees by three games in the AL East after cashing three straight and six of their last eight games before the All-Star break. Boston has the added benefit of a healthy Mike Lowell, who is expected to come off the 15-day disabled list for Friday night’s series opener (7:07 PM ET) after missing 14 games because of his ailing hip.
The Jays aren’t so fortunate on the injury front, with starting pitchers Scott Richmond (shoulder), Casey Janssen (shoulder) and Shaun Marcum (elbow) all on the 15-day disabled list. That’s on top of injuries to starters Dustin McGowan (shoulder) and Jesse Litsch (elbow), who are both out for the season.
In the absence of most of their starting pitchers from the preseason depth chart, rookie lefthander Ricky Romero (7-3, 3.00 ERA) has performed admirably this season. Not expected to pitch above Triple-A Las Vegas this season, Romero toes in the rubber in Game 1 against BoSox righthander Clay Buchholz, who makes his first start of the year with the big club. The cynic in me thinks Boston is showing Buchholz to the Toronto front office in the hopes of landing Halladay.
Oddsmakers opened Romero and the Jays as -130 chalk for Friday night’s game, with the Red Sox priced at +110 underdogs. The total was set at 9.5.
Boston righthander Brad Penny (6-3, 4.71 ERA) goes up against Toronto southpaw Brian Tallet (5-6, 4.95 ERA) in Saturday afternoon’s second game (1:07 PM ET). Penny surrendered two earned runs over six innings on his way to a no-decision in the BoSox’ (-101) 5-3 loss at Rogers Centre on May 30, while Tallet (7 IP, 3 ER) picked up the win with the Jays as -107 favorites.
