July used to be my favorite month of the year. Good weather, the 4th, pool parties, BBQs, etc., but Holy Toledo Batman has this July been brutal from an MLB perspective. Way underwater. This reminds me of that 2021 season when MLB started checking pitchers for substances midseason and that changed everything. The Tigers are 1-5 since the break but all away. They are 32-18 at home, while surprising Toronto is 23-25 away and playing its first road game post-break. Southpaw Eric Lauer (5-2, 2.80 ERA) has been good for the Jays, but Detroit is 18-9 vs. lefties and ranks fifth in OPS against them. Tigers pitcher Reese Olson is 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA at home. He blanked Toronto over six May 17.

The Tigers have lost nine of 10 and were just swept by an awful Pirates team. They are coming home now, though, where they are 32-18. They face a hot Blue Jays team, but the Jays are 23-25 on the road. The pitching matchup favors the Tigers, too, with Reese Olson and he's been excellent at home. I think the Tigers get right here.

Caesar’s. Eric Lauer has provided the Blue Jays with a nice spark since entering the rotation. He’s cleared this line in five of his last six outings, and overall has registered 65 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched. The Tigers offense has been non-existent coming out of the All-Star Break - I like Laufer’s chances of finishing five innings today.

The Tigers have been slumping so badly (1-9 their last ten) that they no longer have the best record in the AL. That would belong to the ascending Blue Jays (plus the Astros), who have won 16 of their last 20 and suddenly pulled four games clear of the Yankees in the AL East. It's gotten so bad for Detroit that it was just swept by the Pirates (Pirates) amid scoring only nine times in six games since the All-Star break. Reese Olson's form hasn't been bad on the mound lately for Detroit, but he's usually capped at five innings, while surging Toronto has won seven of the last eight starts by steady Eric Lauer (2.80 ERA). Play Blue Jays on Money Line