Blue Jays picks and props vs. Yankees Sept. 26: Bet on Kevin Gausman and Michael King to deliver again
The Toronto Blue Jays kick off their final week of the season with ace Kevin Gausman on the bump Tuesday night.
The pregame narrative: Toronto holds the second wild-card spot with six games remaining, starting with three versus the New York Yankees. We'll see the same starting pitching matchup we witnessed last Wednesday when both Gausman and Michael King dazzled. We expect both to be on point again.
MLB oddsas of 12:16 p.m. ET on 09/26/2023.
Blue Jays picks vs. Yankees
Best Bet: King over 5.5 strikeouts (-132)
King's Yankees lost last week's battle but it was through no fault of his own.
The right-hander was sensational, recording a personal-best 13 strikeouts over a career-high 7.0 innings. He allowed one run and walked none.
King has been downright dominant since fully transitioning into a starter's role on Aug. 24, holding hitters to a .531 OPS without allowing a homer.
It's not a stretch to say that he's been one of the best starters in baseball over the last month.
His workload has understandably been light since he was used almost exclusively as a reliever since making his debut in 2019. King's last outing versus Toronto was the only time he has topped five innings this season but that hasn't prevented him from clearing this number.
The 28-year-old has topped 5.5 Ks in three straight outings, amassing 30 strikeouts over that stretch.
King is locked in and we're not about to fade him, especially after what he did to Toronto last week.
Key stat: Seven of the last nine starters to face the Blue Jays have recorded six-plus Ks.
Quick pick
Gausman over 7.5 Ks (-129): Gausman was nearly as good as King last Wednesday, which speaks volumes considering how electric the New York starter was.
Toronto's ace threw 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out 10. It was a big bounce back after a rough outing against the Texas Rangers and the second time this month the righty has recorded double-digit Ks.
More importantly, as it relates to this wager, it was the third time in as many starts that Gausman has punched out 10-plus Yankees. Gausman has owned New York, striking out 31 batters over 20.0 innings of work this season.
There's reason to feel optimistic that he can rack up the Ks again. The Yankees have the third-highest K-rate in baseball this month and are hitting an MLB-low .219.
Gausman, the AL strikeout leader, is averaging nine Ks per game in six starts against New York since joining Toronto last season.
