Doc Halladay on the Hill – Toronto at LA Angels

MLB Baseball Betting

Toronto Blue Jays (19-10) at Los Angeles Angels (12-13)
Wednesday, May 6

BetOnline MLB betting odds:  Blue Jays -160, Angels +140, Total 8.5

Right-handed ace Roy Halladay (5-1, 3.68 ERA) is the starter for the Blue Jays, with the Angels going with fellow right-hander Anthony Ortega (0-1, 5.56 ERA).

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• TOR has won four of its last five games
• TOR has played six of its last eight games OVER the total
• TOR has lost four of its last six road games
• TOR has played 12 of its last 15 road games OVER the total
• LA has won six of its last eight games
• LA has played four of its last five home games OVER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:

• LA has won four of the last five meetings
• Fifteen of the last 19 meetings have gone UNDER the total
• LA has won four of the last five meetings as the home team
• Nine of the last 13 meetings in Anaheim have gone UNDER the total

The Blue Jays are still leading the major leagues with a .295 average, and they are second in baseball with a .470 slugging percentage. They have also scored 176 runs, which beats everyone else in the big leagues by a wide margin. After allowing 15 runs in the last two games, the pitching stats have dipped a bit. The bullpen is not first anymore but seventh in the big leagues. The Blue Jays are still at the top of the American League East, a full game ahead of the Boston Red Sox, but they are going through a critical stretch.

The Angels are in third place in the AL West, two games behind the Seattle Mariners. They have won three games in a row, including Tuesday’s 5-3 win over Oakland, in which Shane Loux tossed a gem allowing just one run over seven innings.

Roy Halladay, who gets tonight’s start, last faced the Angels on July 5 of last year, allowing just two runs in seven innings and striking out seven. He has bounced back from a tough outing in his first start to pitch some very strong games, going at least seven innings in every start thus far. In 44 innings, Halladay has struck out 38 and walked only five. Halladay has received the benefit of a lot of offensive support, as the Blue Jays have scored 42 runs in six starts for him (seven per game). Consequently, five of those six starts have gone over the total.

Anthony Ortega acquitted himself rather well against the Yankees last Thursday, allowing just three runs in 6-1/3 innings. Ortega, native of Venezuela, had a 9.88 ERA at Triple-A Salt Lake. He is the latest attempt to fill a fifth rotation spot that was vacated with the tragic loss of Nick Adenhart. The Angels are currently considering other options, although Paul Byrd and Pedro Martinez don’t appear to be among them.

We might add that the Angels are last in the majors with a 7.44 ERA out of their bullpen, and the relief corps has lost eight games as well.

Let’s look forward to Halladay continuing to get support from his Toronto teammates, and for Ortega to demonstrate why his team needs to explore more options. We’re going OVER the 8.5 runs as they are posted in the BetOnline Sportsbook.

JAY’S PLAY:  OVER 9 (-110) ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)