MLB Baseball Betting Odds
Florida Marlins at Toronto Blue Jays
Saturday, June 13
By Charles Jay
 
In this Saturday interleague matchup, southpaw Sean West (1-1, 2.22 ERA), who has been a real standout for the Marlins, goes up against Casey Janssen (2-2, 5.24 ERA) of the Blue Jays.
 
Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
(Numbers are good through Thursday's games; please update with Friday's results)
 
* FLA has lost seven of its last ten road games
* FLA has played five of its last six road games UNDER the total
* TOR has won four of its last six games
* TOR has lost 14 of its last 21 games
* TOR has played its last five games UNDER the total
* TOR has won 16 of its last 23 home games
 
In the HEAD-TO-HEAD sports betting trends:
(Numbers are good through Thursday's games; please update with Frriday's results)
 
* FLA has won the last five meetings
* Four of the last five meetings have gone UNDER the total
* FLA has won four of the last six meetings as the road team
* Four of the last five meetings in Toronto have gone UNDER the total
 
The Marlins have fallen, without question. When they came out of the box they looked like they were going to be right in the thick of things in the National League East. Things started to go downhill, and one of the reasons is that the team can't put together a consistent offense. Right now Florida is in fourth place in the NL East, and they are eight games in back of the Phillies (ten games behind in the loss column). Toronto also got off to a big start, and they led the American League East early, The difference with them is that they have managed to hang in there all the way thus far, and they are in third place in the division, one game behind the Yankees and three games in back of the Boston Red Sox.
 
The Marlins have a tendency to strike out. They have the second highest total in that department in the National League, fanning 8.2 times a game. They average 4.6 runs, and are an even 14-14 away from home. The Blue Jays lead the American League in base hits, averaging 9.9 per game, and they've also allowed the third fewest runs in the league, with 4.4 per contest. They are a sizzling 21-10 at the Rogers Centre, and have a 10-8 record against left-handers.
 
On Saturday they will be facing a pretty imposing southpaw. Sean West has really done the job since being called up from Double-A Jacksonville to fill a spot in the Florida rotation. West walked four batters in his debut, a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in which he went five innings and allowed only two runs (later the Marlins' bullpen let the thing get out of hand). When he has his pitches under control, he is very tough to hit. He showed that against the Mets on May 29, holding them to a run on four hits in seven innings, and Florida lost a 2-1 decision in extra innings. West picked up his first major league win five days ago, and was brilliant in a 4-0 shutout against San Francisco, allowing only two hits over eight innings.
 
Casey Janssen hasn't faced the Marlins since 2006, his rookie season, and his memories are not good, as he was removed after three innings of poor work, letting fifteen runners reach base, with seven of them scoring. He's given Toronto decent work in three of his four starts, and in his last outing he struck out six batters in five innings, allowing two runs in a 6-3 win over Texas. The opposition is hitting .340 against him.
 
I like the young southpaw on the road in this game. West has been pitching like a young Randy Johnson (who he beat last time out), allowing opponents to bat just .159 against him. It's the Marlins as an underdog in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.
 
JAY'S PLAY:  FLORIDA **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)