Another lazy Jays loss opened their series in Seattle Thursday night, a game in which saw many of their fans travel across the border to cheer on this slumping Toronto squad. Yesterday was a brutal bullpen outing again for the Jays, and they’ll turn to reliever turned starter Ross Stripling to stem the bleeding. The Jays have lost six of seven contests, and it is these Mariners that are hot on their tails in a competitive AL wild-card race.
Blue Jays Ross Stripling is 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 5 road starts this season#NextLevel
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) July 8, 2022
PITCHING PROBABLES: Blue Jays: Ross Stripling (4-3, 3.32 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 49 strikeouts); Mariners: George Kirby (2-3, 3.75 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 58 strikeouts)
While Stripling has pitched quite well as he’s entered the rotation, the veteran has shown some big-time warning signs of late. Against a hot-hitting Seattle squad, things could go from bad to worse for the Jays on Friday night.
Seattle will look to continue their torrid pace as they turn to youngster George Kirby. The righty has put together some really solid starts, and it shows in his numbers. He possesses great control over his pitches, and is putting together a very quality rookie year. Kirby possesses the type of pitching profile that can keep this slumping Toronto offense down in the dumps, and look for Kirby to be able to continue a strong season.
What a Major League debut for @Mariners rookie George Kirby.
6 IP
4 H
0 R
0 BB
7 K pic.twitter.com/fV2j4NW7SU— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 8, 2022
With both squads badly needing victories for their prospective post-season hopes, it makes Friday night’s game all the more important. Will the Jays continue their season-worst slump? Or will this once hot offense get back on track vs. the Mariners’ rookie? For added insight, the latest news, trends, and analysis, continue reading on beneath the posted odds for our breakdown and betting prediction for this crucial Jays/M’s series. Enjoy the game, folks!
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners Live Odds & Betting History
Betting odds provided by BOVADA
| TEAM DATA | BLUE JAYS | MARINERS |
| Overall Record | 45-39 | 42-42 |
| Over/Under/Push | 46-36-2 | 39-42-3 |
| Home/Away Record | 20-21 | 21-20 |
| Runs Per Game | 4.6 | 4.2 |
| Runs Allowed Per Game | 4.5 | 3.9 |
| Team Batting Average | .258 | .235 |
| Bullpen ERA | 4.29 | 3.70 |
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners Prediction:
Losers of six of their past seven games, the Blue Jays continue this series absolutely reeling. Their offense is slumping once again, and with pitching that simply cannot be trusted – the Jays are in trouble and are in danger of falling out of the playoff pitcture.
Ross Stripling will take to the mound Friday night, and though he has fared pretty well and helped out the Jays since entering the rotation, his past few starts haven’t been great. Stripling also hasn’t been able to work too deep into games, a huge issue for Toronto on their reeling bullpen.
81 games in, #BlueJays are hitting at an elite level…
R: 381, 7th
wRC+: 113, 4th
HR: 104, 5th
K%: 20.7%, 10th…but their pitching hasn’t been good enough
Runs allowed: 361, 21st
ERA: 4.14, 22nd
HR/9: 1.16, 23rdA problem for Jays, who will look to solve it by trade deadline
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) July 5, 2022
Seattle will be ready to pounce on Ross Stripling, entering Friday’s game hitting to a fifth-best wRC+ of 124, and with rookie star Julio Rodriguez leading off for the M’s, this offense has emerged as one of the top units in baseball. They’ll be able to hit Stripling, and should again feast on the Jays’ bullpen for the second straight evening.
Most 110+ mph batted balls in single season, rookies tracked by Statcast (since 2015):
2017 Aaron Judge: 67
2019 Pete Alonso: 42
2019 Vladimir Guerrero Jr: 29
2018 Daniel Palka: 28
2022 Julio Rodríguez: 20*
2019 Yordan Alvarez: 20* it is July 8!!
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 8, 2022
Even if the Mariners do struggle somewhat vs. Stripling, George Kirby will look to continue his impressive first-year campaign. The highly touted Kirby has dominated in 2022, and enters Friday night with an impressive 3.2% walk rate. He has a profile of elite control and can be tough on right-handed batters, and as a result should be able to frustrate the Jays this evening.
With Toronto’s pitching staff a pretty huge mess, it’s unfathomable to back this team at a pick’em price. The Seattle offense is rolling right now, and though most of the Mariners stadium will be invaded by travelling Jays’ fans from north of the border, look for Seattle to silence their supporters fairly quickly once again. Expect Seattle to get to Ross Stripling within the first few innings, and once Jays’ manager Charlie Montoyo has to turn things over to his weakened bullpen, look for the M’s to really take hold of another ballgame.
Five in a row. 13 of the last 16 & back to .500 on the season
The Seattle Mariners are the hottest team in baseball 🔥 @MarinersONtap #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/SIz6aYSph6
— Sports ON Tap Seattle 🎙 (@SONTSeattle) July 8, 2022
Blue Jays vs. Mariners Trends To Know:
- Blue Jays are 1-5 in their last 6 games on grass.
- Blue Jays are 1-5 in their last 6 road games.
- Blue Jays are 1-6 in their last 7 overall.
- Mariners are 6-1 in their last 7 home games.
- Mariners are 13-3 in their last 16 overall.
- Blue Jays are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Seattle.
The Blue Jays are in need of some sort of miracle to salvage another season that seems to be slipping away, but it’s likely not coming. And especially not against George Kirby and this surging Mariners’ squad. Expect Seattle’s offense to dominate once again, and the Mariners dominance over the Jays should continue on Friday evening as they inch closer to overtaking them in the AL Wild-Card race.
