Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 8/19/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: MLB.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Toronto (-144) Tampa Bay (+120)

The Tampa Bay Rays (74-49) host the Toronto Blue Jays (61-65) at Tropicana Field on Wednesday. The moneyline on this matchup has the Blue Jays at -144 while the Rays open at +120. The total is 8.5. The expected starting pitchers are Max Scherzer and Drew Rasmussen.

The Blue Jays have recorded 195 doubles as a squad and have smacked 116 baseballs out of the park. Toronto has a slugging % of .374 and have been called out on strikes 916 times, while being walked on 346 occasions. As a squad, the Toronto Blue Jays are notching 3.9 runs per game, which ranks them 30th in the league. They have accumulated 470 RBI's and 1,025 base knocks on the season, while their team batting average is sitting at .242. They have 492 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .304.

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The Blue Jays hold a team earned run average of 3.95 on the campaign (11th in MLB), and they have rung up 1,099 batters. Blue Jays pitchers have conceded 131 home runs in addition to 549 runs in total (17th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 465 opposing batters and their FIP sits at 3.96 as a unit so far this season. Toronto has yielded 1,006 base hits (8.1 per 9 innings) and 493 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.36 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.31.

Blue Jays bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on base 137 times in addition to having 163 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have recorded 83 holds on the year (4th in MLB). The Blue Jays bullpen have a save rate of 74.1% and have stepped onto the mound in 145 save situations. They have 43 saves so far this season and have not converted 15 out of their 58 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 191 base runners so far this year with 27.2% of those players crossing the plate. The Blue Jays have dispatched 467 relievers to the hill over the course of the season.

The Toronto Blue Jays have earned 3,370 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 1,081 assists and 78 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .983 which is 24th in MLB, and they have turned 85 double plays. The Blue Jays have transformed 69.7% of baseballs in play into outs in their 10,110 innings, which ranks them 15th in professional baseball.

Scherzer has taken the hill for 3,004 innings and has earned 3,520 punch outs in his career. His ERA is 3.26 (1,089 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.089. He has surrendered 2,476 base knocks (7.4 hits per 9 innings) and has 796 walks. Scherzer (222-122 career record) holds a FIP of 3.21 and he has faced 12,168 hitters in the major leagues.

The Rays hold a team SLG% of .407 and they average 4.54 runs per contest (14th in the league). They have hit 177 doubles, while walking 405 times and scoring 559 runs. Tampa Bay has 129 long balls on the campaign to go along with 532 runs batted in. They have been called out on strikes on 875 occasions (30th in the league) and have 1,078 base knocks. The Tampa Bay Rays have earned an on-base percentage of .331 and a batting average of .261 on the year.

The Rays have a team WHIP of 1.150 with a FIP of 4.05 as a pitching staff on the season. They have a ranking of 5th in the league as a staff in total hits relinquished with 946. The Tampa Bay pitching staff have surrendered 507 runs on the season while having a team ERA of 3.76 (459 earned runs allowed). Their K/BB ratio sits at 8.20 (1,005 strikeouts vs 317 free passes). They have given up 153 homers and they yield 4.16 runs per 9 innings (7th in baseball).

Tampa Bay relief pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 29.7% out of their 145 inherited base runners. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 122 times in high leverage situations in addition to 101 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 154 save situations, the Rays have earned 92 holds and also 14 blown saves. They are ranked 2nd in the league holding a save percentage of 77.4%, and they have sent 393 bullpen pitchers to the mound this season.

The Tampa Bay Rays have turned 83 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .983 (22nd in the majors). The Rays have accrued 971 assists, 73 errors and have earned 3,294 putouts over the course of the season. Out of their 9,882 innings on the diamond, the Rays have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 72.0% (2nd in pro baseball).

So far in his career, Rasmussen has given up 467 hits while tallying 561 K's in 589 frames. Rasmussen (42-22 career mark) holds a 2.87 earned run average while allowing 7.1 hits per nine innings. He has given up a total of 188 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.033 and a FIP of 2.8. His K/BB ratio is 3.95 and he has gone up against 2,346 batters in his pro baseball career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (+120)

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