Toronto enters Wednesday at 62-65 after winning six of eight and reaching the edge of the final wild-card position. The Blue Jays collected 17 hits during Tuesday\u2019s 10-5 victory, with every starter recording at least one. They have batted .269\/.329\/.367 across nine games, producing 39 runs despite hitting only five homers. Tampa Bay remains 75-50 overall and 42-22 at home, although four losses have arrived across five games. The Rays lead the season series 8-3, while Toronto leads this three-game set 1-0. Tampa Bay has scored 56 runs with a .315\/.369\/.473 line across its past nine games. Below is my preview, prediction, and pick for today\u2019s baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how I\u2019ll play it. I\u2019ll be pumping out these predictions for individual games all season, with plenty of coverage here on\u00a0DraftKings Network. Follow my handle @dansby_edits<\/a> for more betting plays.<\/p>\n Drew Rasmussen owns a 12-5 record, 2.78 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 133 strikeouts through 129\u2153 innings. He has issued only 23 walks, producing 5.78 strikeouts per walk and an efficient 15.43 pitches per inning. Rasmussen divides his foundation among a 29.3% cutter, 29.2% four-seamer, 22.8% sinker, and 12.2% changeup. His sinker has allowed a .168 average, while the changeup carries a 36.4% whiff rate. Max Scherzer counters with a 6.59 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 17 walks, and 11 homers across 41 innings. His August has been stronger, yielding four earned runs, 13 strikeouts, and three walks across 16\u2153 innings. Toronto owns a .253\/.310\/.393 line against righties, while Tampa Bay has punished them at .268\/.339\/.426.<\/p>\n Rasmussen\u2019s extreme handedness split creates Toronto\u2019s largest offensive problem. Right-handed hitters own a .163 average, .457 OPS, and five walks across 52\u2154 innings against him. Kirk, George Springer, Ernie Clement, and Kazuma Okamoto occupy the heart of Toronto\u2019s healthy order. Kirk has batted .429\/.515\/.714 since Aug. 9, producing 12 hits, two homers, and seven RBIs. Clement owns a .285 average and 135 hits, while Springer recorded three more hits Tuesday. Okamoto has 25 homers, a 43.9% hard-hit rate, and a 12.4% barrel rate. He has also struck out in 30.7% of his appearances, giving Rasmussen\u2019s elevated fastball another exploitable lane.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay\u2019s lineup owns the cleaner matchup against Scherzer\u2019s diminished fastball command and severe left-handed split. Lefties have batted .297\/.385\/.545 against Scherzer, with seven homers, 14 walks, and only 14 strikeouts. Righties have managed a much lighter .676 OPS, underscoring the value of Tampa Bay\u2019s available lineup construction. Jonathan Aranda owns a .285\/.369\/.425 line with 15 homers and 76 RBIs. Chandler Simpson has batted .444 recently, while Richie Palacios has reached base at a .433 clip. Yandy D\u00edaz has hit .450\/.477\/.700 across 10 games, scoring 10 runs and homering three times. Junior Caminero adds 35 homers, a .537 slugging percentage, 92.7 mph average exit velocity, and 50.1% hard contact.<\/p>\n Blue Jays vs. Rays<\/a> pick, best bet<\/p>\n Rasmussen has permitted only four earned runs across his last 30 innings, striking out 35 against six walks. However, Toronto collected seven hits against him across five innings on July 21. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.\u2019s concussion absence removes Toronto\u2019s best pure hitter, yet the lineup has scored 10 runs twice during its recent surge. Toronto\u2019s bullpen ranks fifth with a 3.53 ERA and has posted a 3.27 mark during the past week. Tampa Bay\u2019s bullpen owns a 4.38 season ERA and has been battered for a 6.67 ERA across seven days. Steven Matz and Jesse Scholtens covered 5\u2153 innings Tuesday after Tampa Bay\u2019s starter failed to complete four. The dome removes weather variance, leaving bullpen depth and lineup construction to control the late innings.<\/p>\n The market has hung 7.5 largely around Rasmussen\u2019s command and Scherzer\u2019s improved August. Rasmussen could still surrender two runs before Toronto encounters Tampa Bay\u2019s vulnerable middle relief. Scherzer\u2019s 2.41 homers allowed per nine and 18.54 pitches per inning create a quicker path toward Tampa Bay\u2019s bullpen. The Rays\u2019 left-handed options should generate traffic before D\u00edaz and Caminero receive their most valuable plate appearances. Toronto\u2019s recent contact rate supplies enough late scoring potential to support Tampa Bay\u2019s superior matchup. Eight runs remain attainable through several ordinary scoring combinations, without requiring an extreme failure from Rasmussen.<\/p>\n Best bet: Over 7.5 (+102) Playable to: \u2212110<\/p>\n Projected score: Rays 5, Blue Jays 4<\/p>\n Best bet: Rays vs. Blue Jays o7.5 total runs scored (+100)<\/a><\/p>\n