Gausman Will Stop Bleeding

Rangers vs. Blue Jays, 7:07 ET

Baseball ended up being a losing day yesterday as I pushed on one game and lost the other. I was hopeful that Zac Gallen could take the Mets down and start another scoreless streak. The Mets ended up posting seven runs though. I'll turn back to the diamond tonight for this game as we have College Football Week 3 and NFL Week 2 starting tonight as well. I've got my eye on another game in the series between the Rangers and Blue Jays.

The Rangers are making great progress in this series against the Blue Jays. This was one they really needed to win, and they've done just that, taking three straight against the Blue Jays and now looking for the four-game sweep. They did have a big loss in Max Scherzer going down as he will now be placed on the injured list and not pitch for the remainder of the year. That is now two pitchers the Rangers have gotten who last pitched for the Mets that have gone down with injury during this season with Texas. It is certainly unfortunate as the Rangers would make the playoffs if the season ended yesterday. The job really isn't done though, as a loss to the Blue Jays today would tie up the Wild Card race. Another pitcher who was injured for the Rangers this year, but is now back is Nathan Eovaldi. He was having a spectacular year before he missed all of August with an injury. He has made just two starts and hasn't gone further than 47 pitches in either of them. That might be the case again today. Blue Jays hitters have also been good against Eovaldi as he has allowed a .304 average against him.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 12: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Kansas City Royals in the top of the first inning at Globe Life Field on April 12, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Toronto has to feel pretty badly about dropping three straight to a Wild Card team they are fighting with for a playoff. At this point, either the AL East or AL West will be sending two teams to the playoffs, and this series won't fully determine it, but it could be quite a blow if the Rangers do end up sweeping the Blue Jays. Toronto and Texas are very similar in the makeup of the squads so I expected this to be more of a split than the domination from the Rangers. To stop the bleeding, the Blue Jays turn to their Ace, Kevin Gausman. Gausman has turned in a great campaign ranking in the top 20 of wins, ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP. His last outing was one of his best this season as he went eight innings and allowed just two hits and one earned run. Surprisingly, Gausman only has 18 quality starts in his 28 outings. A lot of the other ones he hasn't made it through six innings. His home ERA is slightly better than his road one and he does seem to rise to the challenge of big games. Texas hitters have been pretty solid overall against Gausman with a .280 average against him.

Both teams know how important this game is, there is no question about that. They both also have their best (remaining) pitcher taking the ball. The reason I think the Blue Jays can take this game is partially because I have no faith in the Rangers bullpen and I don't think Eovaldi is going to last five innings in this game. He might get to 75 pitches, but that could be three innings or five. The history of hitting against these two pitchers does give me a bit of pause and think the over is an option, but I prefer to stick with a side in this and will take the Blue Jays to win it.

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