Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays VS Tampa Bay Rays 2025-05-25

The battle for mediocrity is on. The Tampa Bay Rays, sitting at 24-26, are favored to take down the Toronto Blue Jays, who are barely hovering above .500 at 25-25. Because, you know, being one game over .500 is basically dominating the league.

Ryan Pepiot takes the mound for the Rays, boasting a 3.99 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings pitched. Not bad, not great. He's like the participation trophy of pitchers – shows up, throws some balls, and hopes for the best. On the other hand, Chris Bassitt is looking like a Cy Young candidate with a 2.83 ERA and 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Okay, maybe that's a stretch, but he's definitely the more impressive pitcher in this matchup.

The Rays have a 13-15 record as moneyline favorites, which is just embarrassing. You're supposed to win when you're favored, not lose. It's like being the favorite to win a game of rock, paper, scissors and still managing to lose. The Blue Jays, on the other hand, have won 50% of their games as underdogs, which is actually kind of impressive. They're like the ultimate dark horse – or in this case, the ultimate slightly-above-average horse.

Yandy Diaz and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are the key players to watch in this matchup. Diaz is hitting .249 with 27 RBI, which is decent, I guess. Guerrero Jr. is crushing it with a .274 average, 8 doubles, and 6 home runs. He's like the Blue Jays' version of a superstar – you know, the kind of player who can actually hit the ball out of the infield.

Best bet: Toronto Blue Jays +108. I know, I know, the Rays are favored, but hear me out. The Blue Jays have a better pitcher on the mound, and they've been surprisingly good as underdogs. The Rays, on the other hand, have been underwhelming as favorites. It's time to take a chance on the Blue Jays and hope they can pull off the upset. Plus, who doesn't love an underdog story?

More archived MLB predictions