Oakland @ TORONTO
Oakland +140 over TORONTO

BEST LINES: Pinnacle +139 Bet365 +140 SportsInteraction +140 5DIMES +140

Posted at 12:30 PM EST. 

7:10 PM EST. Chris Smith is starting for the A’s and he’s a pitcher that’s not very recognizable. Smith has just 105 career MLB innings with all of them coming in relief with the exception of his last two appearances. Since being inserted into the rotation for just two starts, Smith has been sharp over 13 innings with a 2.77 ERA and a BB/K split of 3/8. He also has a 55% groundball rate. Despite a fastball that only reaches the upper 80’s and averages just 85 MPH, Smith is a control specialist who pitches to contact and relies on his ability to mix his offerings and set up hitters. He’s now 36-years-old and he has paid his dues. Perhaps starting has given him a new lease on life but he’s fit in nicely so far and he’ll now face a Toronto team that is laboring miserably. The Blue Jays return home from a 10-game trip in which they won three times. They return home a battered team after getting incinerated in Cleveland over the weekend. The last time the Jays played a home game, they lost 19-1 to the Astronauts. Frame of mind counts for something and right now, Toronto is not feeling great while the A’s come in here after defeating the Mets yesterday and having won five of their last nine games. Toronto and Oakland have identical 44-54 records. The A’s have been better against southpaws all season long, they’re swinging some decent bats right now and they’ll face a struggling lefty here in Francisco Liriano.

After the injury to Aaron Sanchez, Liriano moves up a day in the rotation to take what would have been Sanchez's next start. Liriano has had his own issues of late, leaving his last start with upper back and neck pain but with a total of 106 pitches across two abbreviated starts after the break, Toronto believes that he can still be effective with the short rest. Maybe, maybe not but we wouldn’t trust Liriano right now on two weeks rest left alone three full days. Liriano cannot throw strikes, which has resulted in a 1.73 WHIP this year and a 1.89 WHIP over his last five starts. When you allow that much traffic, runners are bound to cross the plate. Over his last five starts covering 22 frames, Liriano has walked 10 and struck out 13. His has an ERA/xERA split of 7.06/9.62 over that span, which is the league’s worst xERA over a five-game span this season. Whether he’s healthy or not does not matter, as Liriano’s skills have fallen off a cliff and there is not one sign that suggests it’s temporary.

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Our Pick

Oakland +140 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.80)

Baltimore -1½ +124 over L.A. Angels
San Francisco +100 over San Diego
Toronto +120 over Tampa Bay
Washington +135 over Cincinnati
San Diego under 83½ -105
Boston under 79½ -110