Blue Jays strive to slow down D-backs
Two explosive teams that have rarely encountered each other through the years are about to kick off a brief two-game set in the Great White North.
Toronto hosts red-hot Arizona tonight, with a 7:07 p.m. ET first pitch at Rogers Centre. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv give John Gibbons’ club odds of -190 to snag the opener, whereas the Diamondbacks are +165 underdogs. The over/under run total rests at nine.
Chip Hale’s troops polished off a four-game sweep of Philadelphia yesterday afternoon. The starting rotation has delivered with aplomb over the past week, a trend that Patrick Corbin (3-6, 4.76 ERA) hopes to continue this evening. A promising young lefty, Corbin has navigated a rocky campaign well enough to go at least 6 1/3 innings in each of his past three assignments. Interleague success has been hard to come by, though, as he’s just 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in such outings.
The Blue Jays counter with Marco Estrada (5-2, 2.58), who’s been nothing short of masterful over the last month. He likely must perform in a similar vein tonight, as Toronto is missing a few key pieces. The biggest loss is obviously slugger Jose Bautista, who recently hit the disabled list with a sprained toe.
Still, the Blue Jays’ righty-heavy lineup presents a multitude of threats to Corbin. The D-backs are seemingly incapable of presenting him with respectable run support, too. Bank on Arizona’s impressive run to come to a close here.
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