PREMIUM
Rogers' EARLY TOTAL MASSACRE >> **10-2 L12 MLB TOTALS!**
(MLB) Toronto vs. Kansas City,
Total: 9.00 | -105.00 Under
Result: Loss
Total: 9.00 | -105.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: The Kansas City Royals won the first of this three-game series 5-4 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. It was a dramatic win, as Whit Merrifield delivered a walk-off, two-run double to cap a four-run ninth inning. The victory gives Kansas City 10 wins in its last 12 and the Royals are now at .500 (36-35) for the first time since they were 7-7 back on April 19. The Blue Jays opened the season 2-9 and have not been able to reach that .500 plateau and last night's crushing loss drops them another game further away from the break-even mark at 35-38. The Blue Jays began their seven-game road trip with wins in two of the first three at Texas but dropped an 11-4 decision on Thursday, failing in yet another opportunity to move to .500 (team is 0-9 in nine such tries in 2017, getting outscored 73-24!).
The pitching matchup: Marco Estrada (4-5 & 4.98 ERA) gets the start for Toronto and will be opposed by KC's best pitcher here in 2017, Jason Vargas (10-3 & 2.27 ERA).
Estrada takes the mound in a four-game funk, having gone win-less in his previous four outings. He lost the first three in that stretch and then escaped this past Monday with a no-decision, despite allowing six runs on seven hits and four walks in just 3 2/3 innings at Texas (Toronto did win the game, 7-6). Estrada's ERA in his recent four-game stretch is a woeful 12.68. Estrada is seeing for the Royals for the first time since the 2015 ALCS, when he went 1-1 in a pair of starts, including a win in Game 5 that kept the series alive for Toronto. Including the postseason, he's 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA against the Royals in four starts. In stark contrast to Estrada, Vargas takes the mound on a five-game winning streak (2.20 ERA). He is tied with Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw for the major-league lead in wins at 10. Vargas missed the 2015 ALCS following elbow surgery and has not faced Toronto since a win on May 30, 2014 but enters this game with a 2-3 (5.36 ERA) record in eight career starts against the Jays (teams are 4-4).
The pick: Vargas is pitching great but there should be some concern regarding his poor career numbers vs. Toronto. As for Estrada, he's clearly "off his game" and with a career ERA of 6.13 in June, the Over is a 10* play.
The pitching matchup: Marco Estrada (4-5 & 4.98 ERA) gets the start for Toronto and will be opposed by KC's best pitcher here in 2017, Jason Vargas (10-3 & 2.27 ERA).
Estrada takes the mound in a four-game funk, having gone win-less in his previous four outings. He lost the first three in that stretch and then escaped this past Monday with a no-decision, despite allowing six runs on seven hits and four walks in just 3 2/3 innings at Texas (Toronto did win the game, 7-6). Estrada's ERA in his recent four-game stretch is a woeful 12.68. Estrada is seeing for the Royals for the first time since the 2015 ALCS, when he went 1-1 in a pair of starts, including a win in Game 5 that kept the series alive for Toronto. Including the postseason, he's 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA against the Royals in four starts. In stark contrast to Estrada, Vargas takes the mound on a five-game winning streak (2.20 ERA). He is tied with Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw for the major-league lead in wins at 10. Vargas missed the 2015 ALCS following elbow surgery and has not faced Toronto since a win on May 30, 2014 but enters this game with a 2-3 (5.36 ERA) record in eight career starts against the Jays (teams are 4-4).
The pick: Vargas is pitching great but there should be some concern regarding his poor career numbers vs. Toronto. As for Estrada, he's clearly "off his game" and with a career ERA of 6.13 in June, the Over is a 10* play.