Blue Jays vs Phillies Odds, Picks & Predictions (Sep. 21)
By Blair Johnson in MLB Baseball
Published:
- The Blue Jays and Phillies face off in a game between Wild Card teams at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday, September 21st
- Toronto is holding on to the top Wild Card spot in the American League, while Philly holds the No. 3 spot in the NL
- Read below for the Blue Jays vs Phillies odds and betting preview
The Toronto Blue Jays (84-64, 41-32 away) face the Philadelphia Phillies (80-67, 44-32 home) on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park in the second game of a short two-game set between a pair of postseason hopefuls. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 pm ET.
Toronto’s interim skipper John Schneider sends Kevin Gausman to the mound, while Philadelphia’s interim manager Rob Thomson counters with Zack Wheeler in Wednesday’s MLB lineups.
Blue Jays vs Phillies Odds
| Team | Runline | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Blue Jays | TBD | -105 | TBD |
| Philadelphia Phillies | TBD | -115 | TBD |
Odds as of September 20th at Caesars Sportsbook. Claim the Caesars Sportsbook promo code.
The Phillies are the betting favorite in this one. Philadelphia is currently a -115 home favorite over Toronto. The Jays are listed as a -105 road underdog. The game total and runline remain off the board as of Tuesday night.
Toronto vs Philadelphia Probable Pitchers
The 31-year-old Gausman has seen his ERA increase nearly a half-run over his last five starts — with only two of those turns being of the quality vintage. But Toronto has gone 4-1 over that stretch (and 16-12 in the All-Star’s outings this season). In fact, the Jays had won seven of Gausman’s last eight starts prior to his most recent performance last Thursday.
Kevin Gausman has the 3rd best pitching WAR (5.2) and 2nd best FIP (2.41) despite having the worst BABIP (.365) among qualified starters.
This should be talked about more #BlueJays
— Joe Orrico (@JoeOrrico99) September 20, 2022
Gausman was roughed up by fellow AL Wild Card contender Tampa Bay in that game to the tune of allowing six hits, five earned runs and a walk while striking out seven over seven innings in an 11-0 loss.
Meantime, the Phillies are only a game over .500 (12-11) in Wheeler’s 2022 starts — 15 of which have been quality ones. Wednesday’s outing marks the lanky right-hander’s first start since Aug. 20 after missing a month with right forearm tendinitis. It appears he’ll be a glorified opener, with a veteran starter backing him up.
The Phillies are keeping Bailey Falter in the rotation once Zack Wheeler returns. Noah Syndergaard will be Wheeler’s piggyback partner for the next two turns.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 18, 2022
When Wheeler is on, he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. But after missing his last five turns, it’s uncertain how effective he’ll be against a potent Toronto lineup.
Gausman vs Wheeler Stats
| 12-10 | Record | 11-7 |
| 3.45 | ERA | 3.07 |
| 3.43 | xERA | 3.14 |
| 28.1% | K% | 26.7% |
Toronto put on quite the offensive display in the series opener on Monday, putting up 18 runs against Philadelphia pitching in an 18-11 victory. Every player in the starting lineup had at least one hit, with six having multiple hits. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez was the big star, finishing the night going 4-for-5 with three runs scored.
Welcome Back, Captain Kirk ❤️☺️ #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/XsWOXNZh4B
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 20, 2022
The other big offensive star was Alejandro Kirk, who went 3-for-5 and scored twice while driving in two runs. It was his first game back in almost a week with the hip injury. Kirk was hitting .289 with four runs and eight RBI this month prior to going on the shelf.
Meantime, the Phillies are reeling a bit after dropping their fifth straight game. Two bright spots from Tuesday’s loss: Kyle Schwarber hit his NL-best 40th homer of the season and JT Realmuto hit his 20th homer of 2022 and went 5 for 5, driving in two runs and scoring twice.
Philadelphia has +3500 odds to win the Fall Classic, while Toronto is at +18000 in the World Series odds.
TOR vs PHI Last 10 Meetings
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/20/22 | Phillies | Blue Jays | TOR, 18-11 |
| 7/13/22 | Blue Jays | Phillies | TOR, 8-2 |
| 7/12/22 | Blue Jays | Phillies | TOR, 4-3 |
| 5/16/21 | Blue Jays | Phillies | TOR, 10-8 |
| 5/15/21 | Blue Jays | Phillies | TOR, 4-0 |
| 5/14/21 | Blue Jays | Phillies | PHI, 5-1 |
| 9/20/20 | Phillies | Blue Jays | TOR, 6-3 |
| 9/19/20 | Phillies | Blue Jays | PHI, 3-1 |
| 9/18/20 | Phillies | Blue Jays | PHI, 8-7 |
| 9/18/20 | Phillies | Blue Jays | PHI, 7-0 |
Blue Jays vs Phillies Prediction
It’s hard to bet against Wheeler in this spot. But Thomson will clearly be treating his ace with kid gloves upon his return from the IL stint. Plus, the Blue Jays are red-hot, having won five of their last seven games. I like the visitors in this spot.
Pick: Blue Jays ML (-105)
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Sports Writer
Blair Johnson is a veteran journalist and seasoned sports content creator. He has been writing and producing content as long as he can remember, with such familiar names as CNN, NFL Media and Yahoo. Blair currently lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.
