The Blue Jays (62-65) and the Rays (75-50) continue their three-game AL East series tonight at Tropicana Field, with Toronto looking to build on an impressive series-opening victory and Tampa Bay aiming to snap out of its recent funk.
Toronto pounded out 17 hits in their 10-5 win last night. They chased Rays starter Nick Martinez before the fourth inning was over. In the first inning. George Springer drove home Alejandro Kirk with an RBI single before Jesús Sánchez followed with an RBI double, giving Toronto a quick 2-0 lead. The offense kept rolling in the third when Kirk launched a two-run homer to left-center field, extending the lead to 4-0. Toronto continued to pile on in the fourth inning. Kirk added another RBI with an infield single before a Martinez wild pitch brought home another run to make it 6-0. Tampa Bay finally answered in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three times on a wild pitch and a two-run single from Taylor Walls, but the Rays never got closer than three runs the rest of the way. Kirk finished the night 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBI, Springer collected three hits, and Ernie Clement scored three runs. On the mound, José Soriano earned the victory, allowing three runs on nine hits over 5⅔ innings without issuing a walk. For Tampa Bay, Martinez suffered just his fourth loss of the season after surrendering six earned runs on nine hits in 3⅔ innings.
Toronto is expected to send veteran right-hander Max Scherzer (1-5, 6.59 ERA) to the mound. His overall ERA is ugly, but Scherzer has been strong since returning to the active roster at the end of July. Scherzer has allowed five earned runs across his last four starts covering18.2 innings. Tampa Bay counters with one of the American League’s steadiest starters, Drew Rasmussen (12-5, 2.78 ERA). The Rays’ ace has allowed just two runs over his last four starts covering 25 innings.
Lets dive further into tonight’s game and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game Details and How to Watch: Blue Jays vs. Rays
- Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2026
- Time: 6:40PM EST
- Site: Tropicana Field
- City: St. Petersburg, FL
- Network/Streaming: MLB.TV, Sportsnet, Rays.TV
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The Latest Odds: Blue Jays vs. Rays
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Toronto Blue Jays (+179), Tampa Bay Rays (-193)
- Spread: Blue Jays +1.5 (-134), Rays -1.5 (+111)
- Total: 7.5 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers – Blue Jays vs. Rays for August 19
- Blue Jays: Max Scherzer
Season Totals: 41.0 IP, 1-5, 6.59 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 31K, 17 BB - Rays: Drew Rasmussen
Season Totals: 129.1 IP, 12-5, 2.78 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 133K, 23 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Blue Jays vs. Rays
- George Springer is 4-24 but has hit 1 HR against Drew Rasmussen in his career
- Springer was 3-4 last night and is 11-49 in the month of August
- Yandy Diaz has hit in 9 straight games (18-40)
- Chandler Simpson has also hit in 9 straight games (18-40)
- Jonathan Aranda has hit safely in 5 of his last 6 games (8-28)
- Andres Gimenez has hit safely in 4 straight games (5-17)
- Gimenez is 3-7 in his career against Rasmussen in his career
- Ernie Clement was 3-5 and scored 3 runs last night
- Alejandro Kirk has hit safely in 7 straight games (12-28) including 2 HRs and 7 RBIs
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Top Betting Trends & Insights: Blue Jays vs. Rays
- The Jays are 61-66 on the Run Line this season
- The Rays are 71-54 on the Run Line this season
- The OVER has cashed 63 times in Toronto’s 127 games this season (63-60-4)
- The OVER has cashed 57 times in Tampa’s 125 games this season (57-63-5)
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Expert picks & predictions: Blue Jays vs. Rays
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s game between the Jays and the Rays:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Jays on the Moneyline.
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Run Line.
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 7.5
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