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2024-03-24
Philadelphia Phillies
Toronto Blue Jays
League : MLB

Toronto Blue Jays vs Philadelphia Phillies Prediction & Preview

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#903 Toronto
Blue Jays -130
 
#904 Philadelphia
Phillies 130

Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 6:05pm

Image licensed from USA Today Sports

 

The Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies will meet in the third game of a four-game series on Saturday after playing a doubleheader on Friday. Toronto went into Friday with a 26-23 record and would be the No. 8 and final seed to qualify for the AL playoffs if the season ended today. Barring a collapse, the Blue Jays should be making their first playoff appearance since 2016. With 11 games remaining, the Blue Jays are 4.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners and five games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers, who are all still mathematically alive in the wild card race.

The Phillies have a 24-25 record and are also currently in the eighth and final playoff spot in the NL, but have a more challenging path ahead. Philadelphia has four teams behind them that are within two games of preventing them from making the playoffs.

The Blue Jays defeated the Phillies in both games of a doubleheader when these teams met on August 20, with both games decided by one run.

**This preview was made before the Blue Jays and Phillies played two games on Friday.**

 

Toronto swept in the Bronx

The Blue Jays will look to get their manhood back after being swept in three games to the New York Yankees, where they were outscored by a combined total of 43-15. Toronto lost the series finale on Thursday, 10-7. Trailing 10-3 heading into the 9th inning, the Blue Jays scored four runs and brought the tying run to the plate before falling short. Bo Bichette went 2 for 5 and drove in three runs, raising his average to .329 with 17 RBI on the season. Lourdes Gurriel Jr was a perfect 4 for 4 in the loss, with two solo home runs. On the season, Gurriel Jr. is batting .308 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI. One positive in the loss was the return of the teams home run leader Teoscar Hernandez (.298 AVG 14 HR 27 RBI), who went 0 for 5 with four strikeouts but played for the first time since Septemeber 5 after suffering an oblique injury.

 

Hyun-Jin Ryu will start for the Blue Jays on Saturday. On the season, Ryu is 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a 60:14 strikeout to walk ratio. In Ryu's career, he has made three starts against the Phillies and is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.47 WHIP.

 

The Blue Jays team pitching ERA has dropped to 16th in the leagues at 4.59 ERA after the series with New York. Offensively, Toronto has a .251 team batting average and .758 OPS, which are both 12th in MLB.

 

Phillies fighting for final postseason spot

The Phillies dropped below .500 after falling to the Mets for the second straight night, in a 10-6 game. Philadephia has now lost five of its last six games heading into this series. The Phillies are 9th in baseball with a .256 team batting average and 8th with a .789 OPS. The offense has been strong overall and balanced, led by Didi Gregorius with a .285 batting average, nine homers, 32 RBI, and J.T Realmuto with 11 home runs and 32 RBI. Bryce Haper has a team-best .404 OBP and has hit 10 homers with 24 RBI. First baseman Rhys Hoskins has added 10 big flies as well and driven in 26 runs.

 

The Phillies will start Vince Velasquez, who is 0-1 with a 6.46 ERA and 1.69 WHIP. Velasquez has started five games and made seven appearances this season. In his career, Velasquez has made two starts against Toronto and is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. As a staff, the Phillies are 26th, with a 5.24 ERA; the only teams worse are Seattle, Colorado, Detroit, and Boston.












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