Blue Jays @ Tigers Odds, Line, Total, Favorite and Predictions – Free MLB Picks 5-16-11

Free MLB Picks and Odds: Toronto Blue Jays @ Detroit Tigers Favorite, Moneyline, Total and Predictions 5/16/11: The Toronto Blue Jays roll into the motor city hot after sweeping the Minnesota Twins three games to nothing. The series saw slugger Jose Bautista belt out 5 homers in three games, which boosted his total on the year to 16 (MLB lead) and his average to .368 (American League lead). When the lengthy outfielder was brought over from the Pittsburgh Pirates it was seen as a depth acquisition and it flew way under the radar of team transactions. He was inserted into the starting lineup sparingly when he was first acquired and he was actually almost dealt in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes. Skip forward to present day and Jose Bautista is among the games best. He has lead the league in homers ever since mid-May of last year and his average his top notch. His intangibles in the fielding game are unquestioned, his size and speed make him a prototypical right-fielder and he uses his length to track down balls that other fielders would not even attempt. His hitting span and stats that follow from last May puts him in the class of the Ruths’ and Gehrigs’, but he may not be getting fully recognized because he plays in the small baseball market of Toronto. Bautista also brings to the plate leadership and mentoring to the Jays young roster, assets that can never be undervalued. He coaches up the young talent in the clubhouse, he leads by example, he even also translates messages to the southern American players that are not yet English tolerant. All put together, Jose Bautista is without a doubt an MVP candidate and he deserves to be recognized league wide, even if he plays north of the border.

The Detroit Tigers are coming off of a successful road trip of 7 straight wins and a road trip that witnessed Justin Verlander almost record two no-hitters. Verlander acquired his second no-hitter of his career in Toronto last weekend and came up 3.1 innings shy in K.C. over this weekend. Verlander, over the last two seasons, has blossomed into one of the games best hurlers on the mound. He brings to the table an ensemble of high class pitches in which he gets to the plate quickly. The Tigers hope to ride the arm of Verlander and hope that Ricky Porcello can find his arm again on way to the AL Central nod. Porcello will take the mound tonight looking for his fourth win of this campaign. He has been considerably inconsistent and is not the same pitcher as his rookie of the year season of 2010. He is struggling to find the strike zone and leaving balls over the plate way too much. Hitters are taking advantage of favorable counts and Porcello is exiting games extremely too early. Porcello does posses a wealth of skill and intangibles, but until he can harness that talent into consistent outings he will never be recognized as one of the games better pitchers.

Tonight we will recommend a play on the Detroit Tigers at home. For all of Porcellos difficulties this year, he has an incredible track record against the Toronto Blue Jays. In fact, he has never lost a game in which he has started against the Jays going back to the beginning of his rookie year, last year. The Tigers are swinging a hot bat right now and are riding the momentum of a 7 game winning streak. The also benefited from a day off yesterday after their series wrap up tilt was scratched due to inclement weather. The Blue Jays will be sending Kyle Drabek to the mound tonight who was shaky, at best, in his latest outing against the Red Sox. The Jays have notoriously falted in the motor city and I expect much the same tonight against a hot Tigers club. We will consider the streak reaching 8 tonight for the motor city bunch. Cheers!

Free Pick: Detroit Tigers -145(moneyline)

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