Toronto Blue Jays vs Atlanta Braves Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/6/2020

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs Atlanta Braves

Date: Thursday, August 6, 2020

Location: Truist Park in Cumberland, GA

TV: RSN/FSSE

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jays (+127) Braves (-137)

Truist Park is the venue where Ronald Acuna Jr and the Atlanta Braves (8-4, 2nd in NL East) will take on the Toronto Blue Jays (3-5, 4th in AL East) on Thursday. The Braves open this matchup at -137 while the Blue Jays are coming in at +127. The over/under has been set at 9.5. The pitchers who are expected to start are Nate Pearson and Touki Toussaint.

Key Toronto Blue Jays Injuries

8/4/2020 Derek Fisher RF Undisclosed Probable for Aug 5
8/4/2020 Elvis Luciano RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
8/2/2020 Chase Anderson SP Oblique Expected to be out until at least Aug 5
7/30/2020 Hector Perez SP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 5
7/30/2020 Yennsy Diaz RP Lat Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
7/28/2020 Ken Giles RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Key Atlanta Braves Injuries

8/5/2020 Ozzie Albies 2B Wrist Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
8/5/2020 Matt Adams 1B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
8/4/2020 Mike Soroka SP Achilles Out for the season
8/2/2020 Will Smith RP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
7/23/2020 Cole Hamels SP Triceps Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
7/21/2020 Phil Pfeifer RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
7/21/2020 Jacob Webb RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
6/26/2020 Jeremy Walker RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Blue Jays have a 3-5 overall record this season. Pearson (0-0) has earned a FIP of 2.40 while facing 19 opposing hitters. He has a WHIP of 0.800. He has surrendered 2 base hits (3.6 hits per 9 innings) with 2 walks. Pearson has pitched in 5 innings and is sitting with 5 strikeouts so far this year. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.11 and they have given up 29 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .191 against the bullpen and they've struck out 34 hitters and walked 22 batters. As a team, Toronto allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings. They are 16th in the league in team earned run average at 4.18. The Blue Jays pitchers collectively have given up 64 base hits and 33 earned runs. They have allowed 6 home runs this season, ranking them 27th in the league. Toronto as a pitching staff has walked 37 batters and struck out 65. They have walked 4.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.2 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.42 and their FIP as a unit is 3.88.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Toronto is hitting .227, good for 18th in the league. The Blue Jays hold a .388 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .283, which is good for 24th in baseball. They rank 14th in MLB with 7.9 hits per game. Teoscar Hernandez is hitting .313 with an on-base percentage of .343. He has 10 hits this season in 32 at bats with 6 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .750 and an OPS+ of 206. Lourdes Gurriel Jr is hitting .308 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .296. He has totaled 8 hits and he has driven in 3 men in 26 at bats. His OPS+ is 126 while his slugging percentage is at .500. The Blue Jays have 63 hits, including 10 doubles and 11 home runs. Toronto has walked 23 times so far this season and they have struck out 69 times as a unit. They have left 56 men on base and have a team OPS of .671. They score 3.25 runs per contest and have scored a total of 26 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Atlanta has a 8-4 overall mark this year. Toussaint (6-1 mark in his career) holds a 5.25 ERA while surrendering 8.2 hits per nine innings. His SO/W ratio is 1.73 and he has faced 354 batters so far in his pro baseball career. So far in his career, Toussaint has surrendered 70 base knocks while earning 88 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched. He has surrendered 45 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.569 and having a FIP of 4.5. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.02 and they have given up 50 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .222 against the Braves bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 61 batters and walked 16 opposing hitters. As a team, Atlanta allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.9 batters per nine innings. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 3.91. The Braves pitchers as a team have surrendered 95 base knocks and 46 earned runs this season. They have given up 10 home runs this year, which ranks 21st in Major League Baseball. Atlanta as a staff has walked 45 hitters and struck out 105 batters. They give up a walk 3.8 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.32 while their FIP as a staff is 3.72.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .247, good for 8th in the league. The Braves hold a .435 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .328, which is good for 9th in baseball. They rank 7th in MLB with 8.3 hits per contest. Ronald Acuna Jr comes into this matchup batting .250 with an OBP of .357. He has 12 hits this year along with 4 RBI in 48 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .417 with an OPS+ of 111. Dansby Swanson is hitting .340 this season and he has an OBP of .367. He has collected 16 hits in 47 at bats while driving in 13 runs. He has an OPS+ of 148 and a slugging percentage of .553. The Braves as a unit have 100 base hits, including 28 doubles and 16 homers. Atlanta has walked 45 times this year and they have struck out on 132 occasions. They have had 79 men left on base and have an OPS of .763. They have scored 5.75 runs per game and totaled 69 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Blue Jays/Braves MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Braves (-137)

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