Miami (7-3) at Toronto (5-8)
When: Tuesday, August 11th 2020
Where: Sahlen Field,
Buffalo, New York
Time: 6:37 ET | TV: Extra Innings
Opening Odds: Toronto -170/8.5
It’s been since the end of the 2019 season that the Toronto Blue Jays have played a ‘home’ game. That ends on Tuesday night as the Jays host the upstart Miami Marlins at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y. The home park of the Buffalo Bisons, the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, finally will become Toronto’s base after playing the first 13 games on the road. The Blue Jays had to find a temporary home after the Canadian government ruled against them playing in Toronto because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attempts to play at Pittsburgh and Baltimore also were rejected by local and state agencies. Before any Major League Baseball games could be held at Sahlen Field, improvements had to be made to bring the park to major-league standards including the lights. 18 current players on the Toronto roster have played for the Bisons in Buffalo, so many will be familiar with the park. The Blue Jays are batting .218 as a team and have scored an American League-worst 39 runs. The Marlins also have been heavily impacted by the pandemic after 18 players tested positive for COVID-19 a few weeks ago. They have won seven of their first 10 games despite losing two consecutive to the New York Mets over the weekend.
Pitchers: Marlins – Elieser Hernandez (0-0, 0.00) | Blue Jays – Hyun-Jin Ryu (1-1, 5.14)
Elieser Hernandez will get his second start of the season and is coming off a scoreless outing over 4.1 innings on Wednesday, striking out five while allowing two hits and one walk against the Baltimore Orioles. He was limited to 66 pitches but should be able to pitch more this time around if effective.
Hyun-Jin Ryu has started three games and his last outing was by far his best. The lefty allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings while striking out eight in Toronto’s 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Ryu is 3-1 with a 2.39 ERA in four career starts against the Marlins – all as a member of the Dodgers.
It will be neat to watch the Jays finally play a ‘home’ game in the Triple-A Buffalo park. Maybe it will improve their hitting stats, which have been terrible this season. The Marlins are still playing well despite the losses over the weekend and are worth a shot here as a nice underdog.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free MLB Picks page for today.
Pick: Marlins +148
