Back the Under in Toronto vs. LA

Blue Jays vs. Angels, 9:38 ET

Overall, it wasn't a great day in Major League Baseball for me yesterday. I was way off on Blake Snell and Spencer Strider being a pitcher's duel. They both allowed a handful of runs and the game saw 13 runs scored. It happens, it isn't the first time this year that I went 1-2 and it won't be the last time. Still, we can try to mitigate the damage with a winning day today. That's what I'm looking for.

The Blue Jays are off to a strong enough start even after losing two of three to the Cardinals to begin the year. Then they headed onto Kansas City and took three of four in that series. I was correct on the game with Alek Manoah and I think we can be correct in this one as well. They still are a bit concerning with the high pitching staff ERA, but they are hitting well enough to mask any real issues from the staff. Tonight they get a guy who has to be itching to get the ball again. Chris Bassitt really struggled in his Blue Jays debut. In his start against the Cardinals, a team he should be familiar with from his time with the Mets, he allowed 10 hits over 3.1 innings and it resulted in nine earned runs. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it is a sign of things to come, whatever it is, he definitely is better than that poor display. He has allowed 24 hits in 85 at-bats to Angels hitters in his career. Mike Trout, as usual, has done quite a bit of damage to him.

The Angels are starting as well as they could hope with a solid 4-2 record and their batting leaders are people other than Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. That's a good sign for a team that has essentially relied on those two hitters for any success over the past five years. They now have Patrick Sandoval going for them in this game. He was good in his first outing of the season against the Athletics, but just keep in mind, that's Oakland, basically a minor league club. He went five innings, allowed one run on five hits, and was able to record the win. This is obvious, but is worth mentioning: The Blue Jays offense is significantly better than the Athletics. Still, their hitters are just 3-for-26 against him in their careers.

I don't think that Bassitt is that good of a pitcher, but he certainly is better than what he showed the other day. Sandoval is a good enough pitcher, but not as good as he showed against the Athletics. But, this game has too high of a total at 9.5. I think it should be a full run lower for me to not play it. I'm taking the under in this game.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024