The Toronto Blue Jays will play the second contest of a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday at Rogers Centre.

Toronto had an excellent opportunity to get back to the .500 mark in the series opener on Monday, but starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi surrendered four home runs to the Red Sox as Boston came away with a 7-3 victory. The Blue Jays slugged a pair of homers of their own courtesy of Davis Schneider and Justin Turner, but it wasn’t enough to propel them to a win.

Let’s dive into the game odds for Tuesday’s clash between the Red Sox and Blue Jays courtesy of bet365:

Red Sox vs. Blue Jays odds

Betting Boston Red Sox (38-35 SU, 34-39 ATS, 33-35-5 o/u)

Canadian Tyler O’Neill put on a show Monday night, launching his 13th and 14th homers of the season in his home country. It was just the third game the Burnaby native had ever played at Rogers Centre and the two homers were also his first two hits ever on Canadian soil at the big-league level. After several injury-plagued seasons, O’Neill is finally healthy and producing at a high level like he did in 2021 with the St. Louis Cardinals, when he slugged 34 homers and drove in 80 runs. He’s building tremendous value for himself as he’s set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

Rafael Devers also launched his 14th home run of the season on Monday. He loves hitting at Rogers Centre, where he’s produced a .331/.416/.614 slash line with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs in 39 games at the venue. Devers has also enjoyed success against Toronto’s probable starting pitcher on Tuesday, Chris Bassitt, hitting .375 with two homers in eight career at-bats against the right-hander.

Betting Toronto Blue Jays (35-37 SU, 36-36 ATS, 31-39-2 o/u)

The Blue Jays recorded 10 hits on Monday, but they went just 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners stranded. It’s the same old story for Toronto, which is scoring just 3.9 runs per game (24th in the majors).

There’s also some news on the injury front. Reliever Yimi Garcia (elbow) has been placed on the injured list, joining closer Jordan Romano (elbow) on the shelf. That means Toronto will be without two key high-leverage arms for the foreseeable future. Chad Green should assume closing duties and the injuries mean Trevor Richards and Nate Pearson could be elevated to setup roles.

Shortstop Bo Bichette missed Monday’s series opener with an ongoing calf problem. However, there’s a chance he could be ready to return on Tuesday. Bettors will want to monitor Toronto’s lineup card to see if he’s included.

Probable starting pitchers

Boston: RHP Tanner Houck (7-5, 2.08 ERA, 8.80 K/9, 0.95 WHIP)

Houck is downright nasty and in the midst of a breakout season. The Blue Jays can expect to see a healthy dose of sliders from Houck, who is holding hitters to a .180 batting average and .213 expected batting average with his best pitch. He’s collected 48 of his 89 strikeouts this season with his frisbee slider, a pitch he throws roughly 42% of the time. Houck also ranks in the 91st percentile in barrel percentage, with opponents squaring him up just 4% of the time. He’s allowed three earned runs or less in 13 of his last 14 starts and his 2.08 ERA ranks fifth in the majors among qualified starters.

Toronto: RHP Chris Bassitt (6-6, 3.56 ERA, 8.62 K/9, 1.40 WHIP)

Bassitt is very quietly putting together a very impressive season. He threw five innings of scoreless ball last time out against the Milwaukee Brewers, one start after holding the Oakland Athletics to a single run over eight solid frames. The righty has held the opposition scoreless in three of his last five starts, and historically performed well against Boston, recording a 2-0 record with a 2.14 ERA across 21 career innings against the Red Sox.

Weather

A heat wave is expected to hit Toronto this week, so it’ll be interesting to see if the retractable roof at Rogers Centre is open or closed due to the heat. Daytime temperatures could feel around 40 C with the humidity, but they are projected to cool slightly throughout the evening hours under sunny skies. Winds will be light and not a factor.

MLB betting trends

• The over is 5-0-1 in Boston’s last six games.
• The Red Sox are 20-15 SU and 20-15 ATS in their last 35 road games.

MLB player prop trends

• Houck has recorded five or more strikeouts in six straight starts and eight of his last 10. He’s -150 to record over 4.5 strikeouts.
• Houck has recorded 18 or more outs in 13 of his last 15 outings, averaging 19.4 outs per game during that span. He’s a steep -210 to record over 17.5 outs.
• Red Sox catcher Connor Wong extended his hitting streak to 10 games on Monday. He’s -200 to get a hit.
• Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran extended his hitting streak to eight games on Monday. He’s -320 to get a hit.
• Devers has scored a run in six straight games. He’s +100 to accomplish the feat again Tuesday.

Red Sox vs. Blue Jays predictions

• Over 7.5 runs: -115. The ball really carried in the heat and high humidity at Rogers Centre on Monday night and that resulted in six balls leaving the ballpark and 10 runs scored between the two teams. The exact same conditions are expected in Toronto on Tuesday night so we can expect to see similar offensive results. This line is set low at 7.5 runs because of Houck’s recent dominance, and that makes sense in normal weather conditions, but the extreme heat and high humidity are game-changers in this case. Wait until it’s official that the retractable dome will be open before locking in your wager, as there’s a chance they could keep it shut due to the extreme heat.
• There should be a few home runs in this game, so take a look at a few player props to go deep. Consider Devers (+400), O’Neill (+475) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (+500) as the most-likely candidates to homer. We’re getting decent value on all three of these sluggers here given the expected weather conditions. Again, wait for word the dome is open before locking any home run props in.

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