Blue Jays vs. Angels picks and odds: Bet on L.A. to get a quick start against Toronto

With a late comeback on Friday night, the Toronto Blue Jays carry a four-game win streak into Saturday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Angels.

The pregame narrative: Blue Jays’ Jose Berrios frequently struggles early in games, which is why we like the Angels to score in the first and tie or lead after five. We’re also fading Toronto’s offence on a run total that it hasn’t been clearing much recently.

MLB odds as of 9:05 a.m. ET on 04/08/23.

Blue Jays vs. Angels picks

Best Bet: Blue Jays under 4.5 runs (-118)

Given that Toronto ranks second in the majors in batting average (.287), you might expect the team to be crushing it offensively.

And sure, the Blue Jays’ batters got off to a rocking start, with a 10-run, 19-hit showing on Opening Day. But things have been rather quiet since then.

Toronto has fallen under this number in five of its past seven games, averaging 3.9 runs per game in that span. And for as impressive as the batting average is, it hasn’t come with much pop. The team ranks a league-average 15th in slugging percentage (.401).

Tonight’s starter for the Angels, Tyler Anderson, is coming off a year in which he moulded himself into an all-star for the first time. After posting a 2.57 ERA over 178.2 innings, Anderson began this campaign with six scoreless frames against the A’s.

The Jays’ offence is difficult to hold down completely, but it’s still not firing on all cylinders right now. They may flirt with this line, but backing the under makes more sense

Key stat: Based on anticipated weather conditions, Angel Stadium projects to have a scoring environment that is 11% less run-friendly than usual, per Ballpark Pal.

Quick picks

Angels moneyline, first five innings - tie no bet (-121): Late-game collapses are standard fare for the Angels, who finished ninth in blown saves a season ago. But L.A. has consistently started off well against the Blue Jays.

Dating back to last year’s season series, the Halos are 6-1-1 on the F5 moneyline against Toronto. They held a 3-1 lead at the five-inning mark last night.

Most of the Jays’ lineup hasn’t seen Anderson at all, or at least since his career revival came last year. We like him to keep their bats in check enough for L.A. to win or push on this market.

Angels to score a first-inning run (+188): In banking on a hot start for the Angels, we don’t mind reaching for a juicy plus-money play in the game’s opening frame.

Berrios got rocked from the jump in his 2023 debut, allowing four hits and three runs in the first against the low-offence Royals. Now he faces an Angels team that has scored a first-inning run off him in three of their past four meetings (since 2021).