The lines suggest Joba Chamberlain is an established ace. He's not, but Toronto's Roy Halladay is. Back the Blue Jays and their ace tonight in New York versus the Yankees.
Joba Chamberlain is an outstanding setup man. But as a starting pitcher, he's totally untested. Yet the oddsmaker has priced him like he's an established ace. He isn't. But Toronto's Roy Halladay is.
Halladay is in good form, too, giving up three earned runs during his last three appearances spanning 19.1 innings. He has a 16-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in this time frame. Halladay has been a Yankee killer, too. Toronto is 8-3 versus New York during Halladay's past 11 starts against the Yankees. Halladay has a lifetime 3.03 ERA versus New York.
Chamberlain will be lucky to last five innings because he'll be on a 65-75 pitch count. Moving Chamberlain into the starting rotation weakens New York's bullpen. The main setup man is now Kyle Farnsworth. That's not good if you're the Yankees.
The Blue Jays are rested, having been idle on Monday while the Yankees were losing a tough 6-5 road game to Minnesota courtesy of Farnsworth. Toronto has won eight of its last 11 games.
This is New York's first home game following a seven-game road trip. So the Yankees may not have their full concentration yet, especially with all the New York media hype surrounding Chamberlain's first major league start.
Free Pick: Blue Jays +114