The Toronto Blue Jays face off against the Detroit Tigers in the middle contest of a three-game set at Comerica Park on Saturday, August 28, so we’re taking a closer look at this American League showdown, bringing you the best Jays vs. Tigers betting pick and odds.

Last week, the Tigers upset the Jays at Rogers Centre and won a three-game series as massive road underdogs, 2-1. They were listed as +150 home dogs for Friday’s opener that’s excluded from the analysis, while the Blue Jays are firm favorites for Saturday’s clash once more, according to BetOnline Sportsbook

The Jays are in a must-win situation     

The Toronto Blue Jays have just split a four-game home series against the White Sox. They were trailing the bottom wild card in the American League by five and a half games on Friday, and the Jays haven’t been at their best lately, dropping eight of their previous 12 games overall.

During that 12-game stretch, the Jays have registered a disappointing 4.51 ERA and a .262 batting average. Their offense has struggled as well, scoring just 45 runs in the process while slashing .243/.311/.401.

Alek Manoah will toe the rubber Saturday at Comerica Park. The 23-year-old rookie is 5-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 13 starts, posting a 78/25 K.BB ratio across 68 innings of work. Besides a rough outing at Washington on August 17 (six earned runs in just three innings of work), the righty has been terrific lately, posting a shiny 2.64 ERA and a .556 OPS against over his last eight appearances.

The Tigers look to improve at home

The Detroit Tigers fell to 61-67 on the season following a 3-2 defeat in ten innings at St. Louis, splitting a two-game interleague series against the Cardinals. It was their third win over the last nine games overall, and the Tigers had dropped four straight tilts at home prior to Friday’s game against Toronto.

Detroit is slashing just .227/.276/.364 in the last couple of weeks, tallying the third-worst OPS in the majors. The Tigers have scored only 38 runs over their past 11 tilts, so their offense is now averaging 4.34 runs per game (20th in the MLB).

Tyler Alexander will get the Jays for the second time in eight days, and he owned one of the most dangerous lineups in the majors last week. The 27-year-old lefty tossed seven innings of a one-run ball while punching out six. Alexander is 2-2 with a 4.25 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in nine starts and 24 relief appearances this season.

Trends:

Toronto:

  • 4-1 in Alek Manoah’s last five starts

Detroit:

  • 3-6 in the last nine games overall
  • 1-5 in the last six games at home

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Detroit Tigers Pick

The Blue Jays’ offense is slowing down, but the Tigers have been even worse over the last few weeks. Detroit has a poor .695 OPS against the righties and Alek Manoah is doing a great job in his rookie season, so the visitors should come out on top.

On the other side, Tyler Alexander will have a tall task to replicate a top-notch performance from his previous date with Toronto. The Blue Jays are slashing .261/.334/.438 against the lefties (.301 BABIP, 111 sOPS+).

Pick: Take Toronto Blue Jays

The Total:

Comerica Park is quite a pitcher-friendly ballpark and ranks sixth in the majors this term. With both teams slumping at the dish at the moment, going with the under makes sense, though you never know with the Blue Jays’ loaded offense.

Toronto desperately needs more from its bats. Also, the Jays bullpen has registered a poor 5.08 ERA and 4.77 FIP over the last two weeks. On the other side, the Tigers bullpen has a 5.12 ERA and 5.21 FIP in that span, so I would stick with the side bet.

Pick: Go under