New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays Predictions, Betting Odds & Picks

Garcia’s 2021 record: (28-20-2)

How to Watch New York at Toronto

Gerrit Cole vs. Ross Stripling Isn’t As Lopsided As it Sounds

The Yankees aren’t having the season anybody expected them to have, barely staying above the .500 line for the majority of this year — and that’s because they haven’t been able to get ahead of the curve with their ace on the mound.

Cole is having a solid season by most accounts. A pre-season Cy Young favorite, Cole ranks in the top 15 in a number of categories including his 7-3 record (T-7th),  2.31 ERA (14th). 0.87 WHIP (8th) and 113 strikeouts (3rd).

Still, despite his consistency and ability to throw a quality start in 10 of 13 appearances thus far, the Yankees are just 7-6 overall when he starts.

On the flipside, Ross Stripling has struggled in his first full season in Toronto (though technically Blue Jays home games are still being played in Buffalo). The former Dodger is 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 47.2 innings.

He has been better of late, however, giving up just 6 earned runs in 22.2 innings over his past four starts.

However, with all of that said, the MLB is now cracking down on the use of foreign substances on baseballs. Many accused Cole of doing so (like many others). If his spin rates are down on those curveballs against a team that hits this well? That’s going to be a problem.

Will Blue Jays Bats Be Enough?

There is absolutely no chance any team in baseball has played a harder schedule than Toronto. First of all, their home games haven’t even been at home, they’ve been in Buffalo. Secondly, of their last 14 series — dating all the way back to the final day of April — 13 (!!!) of them have been played against teams with winning records.

That trend continues against New York, so it will be up to the offense to try and keep pace. Toronto has scored the seventh most runs of any team in baseball and that’s in LARGE part because of the breakout season of the young star, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr. leads the majors in almost every major category including home runs (22), RBIs (56), OPS (1.148) and is second in batting average (.346).

He’s somehow taken his game to another level in June — boasting a .452 average, .540 OBP, and 1.516 OPS while belting six long balls, driving in 14 runs, and drawing eight walks compared to just 10 strikeouts.

He’s going to need some help though if Toronto will beat Cole and the Yankees and that’s where you turn to his fellow young teammate Bo Bichette who’s on a nice run of his own: .458 average, .567 OBP, and 1.567 OPS over the past week with a team-high four home runs and nine RBIs.

X-factor to Watch on Both Sides

For the Yankees, we’re looking for somebody who does well against right-handed pitching and has been playing well of late. The man who fits that bill? Miguel Andujar. The third baseman is hitting .389 the past week (7-of-18) with a 1.151 OPS, two home runs, and three RBIs. He’s also hitting a team-high .302 against righties this season.

On the flip side, we’re going to pick Marcus Semien because if this veteran bat can heat back up, Toronto can make a postseason push. The shortstop’s batting average dropped more than .100 points from his May average (.368) to this point in June (.260).

Semien can take a good Toronto team and make them great when he’s going right — and a few big hits against an ace like Cole can do exactly that.