First Five Play In Yankees Vs Blue Jays

Yankees vs. Blue Jays, 7:07 ET

2-0 makes for a really nice night, even if they weren't completely sweat-free, the results are what we wanted. Now I've gone 5-1 over the last three days and I am hopeful that this is the start of a very nice run. In sports betting, there are streaks both winning and losing. You want to prolong the winning streak and end the losing streak as quickly as you can.  The good thing about sports - at least the major ones - is that there are games every day for you to choose from. Today, my choice is on a game between the Yankees and Blue Jays as they square off in Toronto. 

You couldn't ask for a much better start if you're a Yankee fan. The team comes into this game with a 12-5 record and looking to put further early season space between them and one of their AL East rivals. The team is doing well, hitting .246 as a team with 19 homers already. I'd expect the average could improve over the season, but this offensive pace and production is pretty strong for the early going. The biggest improvement for the team has been the pitching staff. Last year it seemed like a hodgepodge of characters outside of Gerrit Cole. Sure, Nestor Cortes was there too, but there were injury issues, poor performances, and no real sustained streak of strong performances. The team now has combined for a 2.93 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. One of the injury concerns from last season, and a big reason for the success of the club so far this year, is Carlos Rodon. Rodon takes the ball today to face the Blue Jays. To be up front, I am a big Rodon fan, and usually am when I've been very profitable off of a particular starter. He is making his fourth start of the season and has been getting better each start. He hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any game, and completed six innings his last time out. He has walked at least two batters in each game, which is something to keep an eye on. However, he is limiting the damage. He's held Blue Jays hitters to 10 hits in 50 at-bats against him with no home runs allowed. 

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (Getty Images)

The Blue Jays don't have quite the strong record of the Yankees, but there shouldn't be much reason for concern, either. They started the season with 10 games on the road and really never found their footing, going home with a 4-6 record. That's not terrible for the beginning of the year, or a longer road trip. Since they've been home, they've been able to win five of the seven games, including yesterday's 3-1 victory over the Yankees. This will already be the fifth time the teams have squared off, and we don't even have 20 games completed in the season. They should get better as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. starts to finally heat up, as of now, he is only hitting .188 with three home runs and six RBIs. Tonight they have Yusei Kikuchi pitching for them, and he has been very good this year. Kikuchi has a 2.30 ERA to start the year and has allowed just four earned runs over 15.2 innings. Over the years, the Yankees have had a bit of a mixed bag against Kikuchi with hitters going 27-for-113. 

I think the starters should dominate this game. The two teams both have offensive potential to knock even the best starters out of a game, but today should be difficult for them to find a rhythm with the way both are pitching. Kikuchi has been good enough to keep runs off the board, and Rondon is only allowing a couple of runs per game. I'm going to take under 4.5 runs through five innings for this one. 

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