The Los Angeles Angels host the Toronto Blue Jays on May 8, 2025. First pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast on SN1.
The Blue Jays will look to avoid being swept Thursday when they take on the Angels in the series finale.
After an ugly collapse in Wednesday's matchup, Toronto has now lost four straight games and is quickly falling out of playoff contention in the AL. Chris Bassitt (2.95 ERA, 39 2/3 IP) will take on Jose Soriano (3.83 ERA, 40 IP) in Thursday's matchup.
Find my MLB betting preview and Blue Jays vs Angels prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, betting trends and more.
My Blue Jays vs Angels Prediction
- Blue Jays vs Angels picks: Blue Jays F5 ML -120 (DraftKings, Play to -130)
My Blue Jays vs Angels best bet is the Blue Jays F5 moneyline. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Blue Jays vs Angels Odds
| Blue Jays Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +140 | 8.5 -110o / -110u | -125 |
| Angels Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -170 | 8.5 -110o / -110u | +105 |
Blue Jays vs Angels Projected Starting Pitchers
| RHP Chris Bassitt (TOR) | Stat | RHP Jose Soriano (LAA) |
|---|---|---|
| 2-2 | W-L | 2-4 |
| 1.0 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 0.7 |
| 2.95/3.01 | ERA /xERA | 3.83/4.05 |
| 2.91/3.21 | FIP / xFIP | 3.72/3.41 |
| 1.18 | WHIP | 1.43 |
| 21.6 | K-BB% | 8.9 |
| 43.5 | GB% | 63.9 |
| 98 | Stuff+ | 95 |
| 107 | Location+ | 111 |
Nick Martin’s Blue Jays vs Angels Preview
Toronto Blue Jays Betting Preview: Offense Needs a Spark
The Blue Jays have played a ton of closely-contested ball games this season, as their offense has struggled mightily to put games entirely out of reach.
Due to the majority of their matchups featuring close scorelines, they've already relied quite heavily on all of their high-leverage relievers. During their four-game losing streak, top bullpen arms — such as Jeff Hoffman and Yimi Garcia — have blown games late.
The Blue Jays have scored only 3.53 runs per game, which ranks 25th in baseball. They've left 4.17 runners in scoring position per game — which is the highest mark in baseball — and hold an OPS of just .618 with runners in scoring position.
Toronto hasn't been effective versus right-handed pitching this season, as it holds a wRC+ of 86. The Jays have struck out only 19.1% of the time versus righties but rank third to last in slug rate and hold a 20th-ranked hard-hit rate.
Anthony Santander has always been a slow starter, but he's been extremely ineffective so far, batting just .188 and slugging .333.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has slugged .422 and leads the team with 18 RBIs, but he still hasn't played at the level the team would desire, especially considering his hefty new contract.
Bassitt has had an excellent start to the season, as he's commanded his deep arsenal of pitches quite well and has done a great job of keeping hitters off balance at the plate. He holds an xERA of 3.01 and a BB-K% of 21.8, which is the highest mark of his career.
He holds a Stuff+ rating of 98 and a Pitching+ rating of 101, but his ability to read batters and mix up his pitch selection has made his stuff more effective, despite most of his pitches grading out quite average.
After being a strength early on in the year, the Jays' bullpen has fallen apart recently, posting a 6.86 ERA over the last seven days, with an FIP of 5.58.
Los Angeles Angels Betting Preview: Offense Looks to Rebound Without Trout
For a third straight season, Soriano has outperformed his xERA in the early going, as is often the case with extreme ground-ball pitchers.
He's generated ground balls 64.5% of the time, which has been the key to a season performance that otherwise looks fairly unconvincing. He's been hard-hit 46.3% of the time and holds a BB-K% of just 8.9, but he's allowed just 0.68 HR/9 and has stranded 73.9% of base-runners.
The Angels came out of the gates in tremendous form offensively, but they've come down to earth recently, in part due to Mike Trout's absence from the lineup.
Over the last 14 days, they hold a wRC+ of just 86 and have struck out a league-high 28% of the time. They hold a wRC+ of 92 versus right-handed pitching and have a BB/K ratio of just 0.27, which is the worst mark in the MLB.
Blue Jays vs Angels Prediction, Betting Analysis
The Blue Jays' offensive play has been largely disappointing once again this season, but they've still been more productive than the Angels recently.
It seems likely that Toronto's inability to hit with men on is more than simply bad luck at this point. But, despite that flaw, it's still outperformed the Angels offensively since Trout's injury.
Bassitt has effectively mixed up his deep arsenal of pitches this season while featuring an underlying profile that suggests his 2.95 ERA hasn't simply been good luck.
While Soriano remains a high-quality arm in his own right, Bassitt does appear to provide the Blue Jays with a starting pitching edge in this matchup.
At -125, there looks to be value backing the Blue Jays to win the first five innings. Their underachieving offense still looks more potent than the Angels' right now, and they have an edge with Bassitt facing off against Soriano.
Pick: Blue Jays F5 Moneyline -120 (Play to -130)
Moneyline
Backing the Blue Jays to win the game at -130 is a decent option, but I prefer taking a better price to back them winning the first five innings. While the Angels' bullpen is also a weakness, the high-leverage arms in Toronto's bullpen are all out of form and have struggled in this series.
Run Line (Spread)
Backing Toronto to cover the run line at +125 appears to be a decent option, as it could be due for an explosion if it ever hits with runners in scoring position. However, it's not something I'll be betting on personally.
Over/Under
A total of 8.5 looks fair for this matchup.
