The Toronto Blue Jays host the Athletics on May 29, 2025. First pitch from Rogers Centre is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast on SN1.
Find my MLB betting preview and Athletics vs Blue Jays prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, betting trends, injury reports and more.
The Blue Jays will return home from an unsuccessful six-game road trip to host the Athletics. Toronto went just 2-4 during its recent road trip and averaged just one run per game.
However, a date with the Athletics' struggling pitching staff could help the Blue Jays solve their offensive woes. The Athletics have lost 12 of their last 13 games due largely to some horrid pitching.
Jacob Lopez (2.57 ERA, 14 IP) will take on Jose Berrios (4.22 ERA, 52 IP) in the series opener Thursday evening.
My Athletics vs Blue Jays Prediction
- Athletics vs Blue Jays picks: Jacob Lopez Over 4.5 Hits Allowed -135 (bet365, Play to -145)
My Athletics vs Blue Jays best bet is Jacob Lopez over 4.5 hits allowed. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Athletics vs Blue Jays Odds
| Athletics Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -148 | 8.5 -118o / -102u | +140 |
| Blue Jays Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +124 | 8.5 -118o / -102u | -166 |
Athletics vs Blue Jays Projected Starting Pitchers
| Jacob Lopez (ATH) | Stat | Jose Berrios (TOR) |
|---|---|---|
| 0-2 | W-L | 1-2 |
| 0.2 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 0.3 |
| 2.57 / 2.86 | ERA /xERA | 4.22 / 5.11 |
| 3.71 / 5.02 | FIP / xFIP | 4.71 / 4.30 |
| 1.57 | WHIP | 1.36 |
| 13.6 | K-BB% | 11 |
| 18.9 | GB% | 40.5 |
| 88 | Stuff+ | 91 |
| 103 | Location+ | 95 |
Nick Martin’s Athletics vs Blue Jays Preview
Athletics Betting Preview, Analysis: Fade Lopez
It's been a nightmare stretch for the Athletics, who had a strong start to the season and were hanging around in the wild card race early on.
While their offensive play has remained close to league average recently, their pitching staff has struggled to an ERA of 7.22 over the last 13 games, which has resulted in 12 losses.
The bullpen, in particular, has been a complete disaster. In the last 13 games, it holds an 8.57 ERA and has blown leads on a consistent basis.
Jacob Lopez was able to work through seven innings for just the second time in his young career in his last start versus the Phillies, as he allowed only three hits and walked just one batter.
Manager Mark Kotsay will surely be keen to push Lopez reasonably far into this matchup, especially given the recent form of his relief staff.
In a small sample of 14 innings this season, Lopez holds a 2.86 xERA and 5.02 xFIP. He's struck out 25.8% of the batters he's faced while walking 5.14 batters per nine. He holds a Stuff+ rating of 88 and a Pitching+ rating of 89.
The Athletics rank seventh in the MLB with a wRC+ of 109 this season — and that's after finishing with a wRC+ of 107 in the second half of the 2024 campaign.
Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler have had strong starts to the season after excellent 2024 campaigns, while the addition of youngsters Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz have provided the team with greater depth offensively.
Toronto Blue Jays Betting Preview, Analysis: Can Toronto Hit With RISP?
The Blue Jays continue to struggle mightily to come up with timely hits with runners in scoring position, which continues to ruin an offense that looks quite sound otherwise.
During their three-game series with the Rangers, Toronto recorded 20 hits in games started by Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle. Toronto went 2-for-30 with RISP and still managed to win the series.
The Blue Jays have left 3.98 runners in scoring position per game this season, which is the second-highest mark in baseball. They rank seventh in expected batting average and have struck out only 19.2% of the time, yet they still rank 25th in runs scored per game.
Bo Bichette wasn't in Wednesday's starting lineup due to back tightness, but he was used as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning and came through with a critical two-run homer.
His status for Thursday's matchup is unclear, but his ability to pinch-hit on Wednesday was a strong indicator that his ailment is minor.
Meanwhile, Jose Berrios hasn't been overly effectively recently, as he's pitched to an ERA of 4.26 and has allowed a .288 xBA in his last five outings. He's been hard-hit 44.2% of the time in those matchups and holds a Pitching+ rating of just 86.
Athletics vs Blue Jays Prediction, Betting Analysis
While the Blue Jays are a likely candidate for positive regression in terms of runs scored, this looks like a good spot to target the team continuing to hit for average, something its done well recently.
The quality of Lopez's stuff suggests he should begin to allow hits at a higher rate moving forward, and the Jays should be able to continue making plenty of hard contact in this matchup.
Backing Lopez to allow over 4.5 hits looks to be a particularly strong angle, especially given that he'll likely receive a fairly long leash in this matchup, even if things aren't going entirely smooth.
At -145 or better, there's value backing Wilson to allow over 4.5 hits.
Pick: Jacob Lopez Over 4.5 Hits Allowed -135 (bet365, Play to -145)
Moneyline
I don't have a play on the moneyline for this matchup.
Run Line (Spread)
I don't have a play on the run line for this duel.
Over/Under
I don't have a play for the total, but I'm taking Jacob Lopez over 4.5 hits allowed at bet365.
