The first meeting of the season between the New York Yankees (16-6) and the Toronto Blue Jays (15-8) is set up as a battle for first place in the American League East.
The Yankees just got a sweep in Kansas City and have won nine straight, while the Blue Jays won a weekend series against Houston. The series starts Monday at 7:07 p.m. ET at Rogers Center in Toronto, airing regionally in both markets.
The Yankees send LHP Jordan Mongomery (0-1, 2.70) to the mound in Monday’s opener against Toronto RHP Russ Stripling (0-0, 3.60). These teams split four games in New York April 11-14, with the winning team getting a shutout in three of the contests. Last year the Blue Jays won the season series 11-8, and they split ten games in 2020.
Bats Stay Hot for Yankees
In the sweep of the Royals, the Yankees scored 21 runs and hit six home runs, including two from Aaron Judge on Sunday. New York has scored 67 runs with 20 home runs during their winning streak. Judge had three homers in Kansas City, while Anthony Rizzo is among the MLB leaders with nine dingers after going deep again on Friday.
Judge has a six-game hitting streak, and seven of his eight home runs have come during the win streak. He is 10-for-26 during the streak to raise his average to .300. Rizzo is second in the Majors with 21 RBI and is a big reason why the Yankees lead the Majors with 31 home runs and rank second in the AL with 106 runs scored.
Shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa leads the Yankees with a .303 average, while D.J. LeMahieu is batting .299. Giancarlo Stanton is third on the team in home runs with five, and he has 14 RBI, two less than Judge.
Montgomery took a no-decision against Baltimore last Wednesday, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four over 5⅔ innings. He has struck out 15 and walked five in 20 innings this season, going at least five innings in three straight outings.
Montgomery was 0-0 in two starts against the Blue Jays last year, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits over nine innings while striking out five and walking six. He hasn’t defeated Toronto since April 21, 2018, with three no-decisions and a loss in that span. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is 3-for-7 with a homer against Montgomery, and Bo Bichette is 4-for-8 with two homers and seven RBI.
Toronto Has Yankees Number
Toronto is 8-4 at home this season and 0-1 against left-handed pitching. They took two-of-three against the Astros over the weekend with a pair of one-run wins. Bichette went deep on Sunday to give Toronto a 2-1 lead in the sixth, and Santiago Espinal delivered a game-winning RBI in the seventh.
Guerrero leads the team with 16 RBI to go with six homers and a .275 average. George Springer also has six home runs to go with 12 RBI and a .289 average. Lourdes Gurriel is also batting .289, but Bichette is struggling through April with a .214 average and five extra-base hits.
Guerrero was hitless in three of the four games in New York last month but had a three-homer game in the Jays’ win on April 13. He finished the series 4-for-16 with four RBI and six strikeouts. Guerrero homered on Friday night, his only blast in 57 at-bats since the three-homer game.
Stripling took his third no-decision of the season on Wednesday against Baltimore with one run allowed on five hits over five innings as he struck out seven. He went just four innings in each of his first two starts this season and has 12 strikeouts to just one walk over 13 innings on the season.
Stripling faced the Yankees twice last season, going 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA. He allowed three runs in both starts, going 6⅔ innings on June 16 and 3 ⅓ innings on April 3. Stanton has a home run in seven at-bats against Stripling while Judge is 2-for-6 and LeMahieu is 7-for-22.
Betting Analysis
- New York Yankees -1.5 (+135) Moneyline -120
- Toronto Blue Jays +1.5 (-155) Moneyline +100
- Total Runs: 8 Over +100, Under -120
The Blue Jays have hit just two homers against lefties this season, and Guerrero is batting just .200 at home this season. The Yankees bullpen has been efficient when needed this season, and the offense has carried the team during the last ten days. With a day game Sunday, the travel into Toronto shouldn’t be an issue; look for the Yankees to come out swinging against Stripling.
Betting Pick: Over 8.0 runs (+100)
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