Blue Jays vs. Rangers prediction, odds, pick – 9/18/2024

09/18/2024 02:43 AM

It’s time to continue our MLB odds series with a Blue Jays-Rangers prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Blue Jays Rangers.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers are playing out the remainder of the schedule. Neither team has any chance of making the playoffs. These clubs are in the midst of giving players experience and having guys compete for starting jobs or — if not that — boosting their value on the open market in potential offseason trades. Among the notable developments this week in this series: Bo Bichette has returned to the Toronto lineup after being out for several weeks with an injury. The Blue Jays would love to see Bichette hit well in the last two weeks so that they can either choose to retain him or — if they want to ship him — can get better value for him in the hot stove marketplace.

Blue Jays-Rangers Projected Starters 

Bowden Francis vs. Cody Bradford

Bowden Francis (8-4) has a 3.50 ERA. Bowden Francis has become one of the biggest stories in baseball, and clearly the biggest story for the Blue Jays, in the second half of the season. Yes, this is a bigger story than Vladimir Guerrero. It was already clear in the middle of the season that Vladdy had shaken off a rough start to 2024 and was performing at a high level. The surprising breakthrough for the Jays — more than Vladdy — has been Francis, who has engineered a transformation very few people saw coming. Francis used to be a mop-up reliever and often a gas can who would provide instant offense for opponents. He has figured out something in his mechanics and his overall approach which has transformed his results and has given him the opportunity to become not merely a competent pitcher, but a big piece of Toronto’s future as a franchise.

Francis has taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning twice in the past four weeks. He hasn’t been good over the past month; he has been great. If Francis pitches anywhere close to this exalted standard in 2025, he gives the Jays another really good starter in a rotation which already has Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, and Chris Bassitt. Toronto having another quality starter means the Jays can spend the offseason focusing on high-end relief arms and high-impact bats. Francis is making the organization’s offseason a lot easier, and he is also offering hope that the Jays can bounce back in 2025 if they get the big hitters their batting order needs.

Last Start: Wednesday, September 11 versus the New York Mets: 8 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 K

2024 Road Splits: 7 starts, 50 IP, 35 H, 21 R, 9 HR, 11 BB, 46 K

Cody Bradford (5-3) has a 3.97 ERA. Bradford might be one of the most quietly solid starting pitchers in baseball. He certainly doesn’t get the headlines on a team with Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Nathan Eovaldi, but he is pitching to an ERA just below four runs, and that includes his awful performance against the Diamondbacks last week. That ERA was much lower! Bradford has been a very steady starter at the back end of the Texas rotation. Much like Francis for Toronto, Bradford can be an important part of the picture for Texas in 2025.

Last Start: Wednesday, Septmeber 11 versus the Arizona Diamondbacks: 3 2/3 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 3 HR, 0 BB, 4 K

2024 Home Splits: 8 starts, 49 IP, 31 H, 15 R, 5 HR, 7 BB, 44 K

Here are the Blue Jays-Rangers MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Blue Jays-Rangers Odds

Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+172)

Moneyline: +102

Texas Rangers: +1.5 (-210)

Moneyline: -120

Over: 8 (-106)

Under: 8 (-114)

How to Watch Blue Jays vs Rangers

Time: 8:05 p.m. ET/5:05 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet (Blue Jays) / Bally Sports Southwest (Rangers) / MLB Extra Innings

Stream: fuboTV (Free trial)

Why The Blue Jays Will Cover The Spread/Win 

Bowden Francis has become a really good pitcher — not average, but well above average — in recent weeks. Ride the wave with the newest top starter in the majors.

Why The Rangers Will Cover The Spread/Win

Cody Bradford should bounce back from his atrocious recent start. The Rangers should be able to get several runs off Francis, who is due for some regression.

Final Blue Jays-Rangers Prediction & Pick

If you can predict how these overachieving pitchers will pitch in this meaningless game, you should be running a sportsbook, not merely betting at one. The rest of us will stay away from this coin-flip of a game.

Click here for more betting news and predictions

Final Blue Jays-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers moneyline

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