Scraping by 

Toronto hits the road after going 3-4 on its recently completed seven-game homestand, which ended with a pair of one-run wins over the Boston Red Sox, including a 2-1 victory as +108 underdogs Thursday.

The Blue Jays are 9-18 on the road when the betting total is 8 to 8.5, with the OVER going 14-12-1 in that situation.

Solid situation

Tampa Bay opened up its six game homestand by taking two of three from the Seattle Mariners, including a 7-1 victory as minus-210 favorites Thursday, while pushing up against the betting total of 8.

The Rays are 21-9 at home with a betting total of 8 to 8.5, with the UNDER going 16-13-1 in those 30 opportunities.

Dickey

Blue Jays starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (9-11, 4.46 ERA) didn’t earn a decision in a 6-4 home defeat to the Oakland Athletics last time out, as he allowed three runs and six hits over seven frames.

The right-hander is 5-5 with a 3.08 ERA in 12 road games, with opposing hitters batting .238 against him.

In six career appearances at Tropicana Field, Dickey has compiled a 2-1 record and 2.31 ERA.

Hellickson

Rays starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson (10-6, 4.93 ERA) has dropped three consecutive outings, as he’s allowed 13 runs over 12 innings of work over that span.

The right-hander is 5-2 with a 4.48 ERA in 12 home starts this season, issuing 17 walks and striking out 61 batters in 72.1 combined frames.

In 10 career outings versus the Blue Jays, Hellickson has tallied a 5-2 record and 2.74 ERA—allowing three earned runs or fewer in each of those trips to the mound.

[gameodds]3/241444/?r-1=43-349-192/us[/gameodds]

Prediction

I’m going to recommend that readers make their MLB picks on the total, as the UNDER is 5-1-1 in Hellickson’s last seven outings in this series.

MLB Pick: Under 8 at bet 365