In the Hunt – Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays

BetOnline MLB betting odds: Blue Jays -150, Rangers +130, Total 10.5

Southpaws duel each other tonight, as Matt Harrison of the Rangers squares off against David Purcey of the Blue Jays.

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

(Numbers may go back to last season)

* TEX has lost seven of its last ten games

* TEX has lost four of its last five road games

* TOR has won 11 of its last 16 games

* TOR has won six of its last nine home games

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:

* TEX has won five of the last six meetings

* TEX has won the last three meetings as the road team

Nobody is all that surprised that the Texas Rangers are scoring a lot of runs. Texas is currently tops in the American League with 6.5 runs a contest. Honestly though, how many people would have forecast that the Toronto Blue Jays would be looking like such an offensive juggernaut at this point? The Jays are averaging six runs a game, and the difference between them and the Rangers right now is the fact that they are also doing a respectable job of preventing runs from scoring. While the Texas pitching staff has yielded 6.5 runs a game, Toronto has allowed only 4.2, ranking third in the league in that category. No wonder they are sitting at 10-5, and have insinuated themselves into the American League East race, where most people felt that had no business. In fact, Toronto tops the division, a game and a half ahead of the Yankees and two games in front of the Red Sox.

They were not successful yesterday, though. The Rangers got two-run homers from both Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz as they won a 5-4 decision, beating Toronto ace Roy Halladay. Is the tide turning for them a little? We mentioned that 6.5 runs/game average, but the Blue Jays have not reached that total for the last four games, having scored just 14 times during that period. Of course, the same can be said for Texas, which could not hit Kansas City pitching for a couple of those games in the weekend series.

I don’t know that either of these southpaws – Matt Harrison or David Purcey – with ERA’s of 8.44 and 6.45, respectively, have done very much to inspire confidence. Both of these clubs have plenty of right-handed hitting. Kinsler has been on fire against everybody, hitting .453 and slugging .906 with 16 RBI’s and five homers. Cruz is slamming it too, with six dingers and 15 RBI’s. Hey, Andruw Jones is getting into the act too, with seven hits in 14 at-bats. Toronto still has four regulars hitting over .300, including Aaron Hill (5 HR, 15 RBI, .368).

We can imagine Toronto being able to put its hitting shoes on again, and we smell an over in those BetOnline American League baseball online betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY:  OVER 10.5 (Even) ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)