Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox Betting Odds

Opening Game Odds: Brandon Morrow (+160) vs. John Lackey(-180) at 5 Dimes

John Lackey (3-1, 3.89 ERA) is finding his groove after signing with the Red Sox in the offseason. The long-time Angel has pitched pretty solid in all but one start this season, and he's strung together three straight quality starts. His most recent outing was the best, a seven-inning, two-hit, one-run performance against his former teammates; Boston won that game 3-1. This will be Lackey's 12th career start against the Blue Jays-he's 3-3 with a 3.31 ERA in those meetings.

David Ortiz continues to struggle at the dish for Boston. He's hitting a paltry .182 this season. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Adrian Beltre looks like an early season team-MVP candidate. Beltre is hitting .333 with two homers and 19 RBIs (second on the team). Dustin Pedroia is locked into another great campaign; he's hitting .293 with a team-high seven homers and 21 RBIs. JD Drew has also come on and is hitting .469 in May.

Brandon Morrow (2-2, 5.40 ERA) was lit up in his first two starts as a Toronto Blue Jay, but he hasn't allowed more than three runs in a game since then. He didn't get a decision in last week's 5-4 win over Indians, but Morrow did hold Cleveland to three runs over 5.1 innings of work. Morrow struck out nine batters in that game, giving him 42 strikeouts in 33.1 innings this season. The former Mariner has faced the Red Sox nine times in his career, though eight of those appearances came in relief. Morrow has a 3.60 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 15 innings in those games.

Alex Gonzalez has been a surprising force for the Toronto Blue Jays this season. The shortstop leads the team with 10 homers and 27 RBIs this season. Vernon Wells is in the midst of a comeback season, hitting a team-high .339 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs. After career years in 2009, both Adam Lind and Aaron Hill have struggled. Lind is hitting a microscopic .089 in May; Hill is at least showing signs of life, hitting .237 this month after batting .162 in April.

Toronto and Boston have faced off three times this season, with the Red Sox winning all three games. The run total went under in two of those three meetings. BetED.com has the over/under set at nine runs.

Game Pick - Prediction
I'll give a slight advantage to Boston in starting pitcing in this game, but Toronto is playing at a much higher level this season. Especially on the road where they have won 75% of their games this season. Take the Jays +175 at Sportsbook.com.