The Daily Sweat: Is it time to buy in on the Toronto Blue Jays?

The Toronto Blue Jays are starting to get hot.

With young sluggers like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette in the lineup and Alek Manoah emerging as a legitimate ace, the Blue Jays are one of the most exciting teams to watch in Major League Baseball.

The Blue Jays have been overshadowed by the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East to this point in the season, but now could be the time to buy in on Toronto making a run.

The Blue Jays, at 27-20 overall, are in the midst of a five-game winning streak ahead of a six-game homestand that begins Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox. The Jays are just a half-game behind the Rays and 5.5 games behind the Yankees, who have one of baseball’s best records but have started to come back down to earth a bit in the past few weeks.

Fittingly, the Yankees are big favorites to win the AL East at BetMGM with -225 odds. However, it’s the Blue Jays, not the Rays, that have the second-best odds to win the division. Toronto is listed at +350 at BetMGM with the Rays at +550.

The oddsmakers are well aware of the talent on Toronto’s roster — and well aware that this team is yet to really hit its stride. The current five-game winning streak is a season-high, and the Jays can make it six in a row with the Chicago White Sox visiting Rogers Centre.

For Tuesday night’s game, the Jays are -165 favorites with Kevin Gausman on the mound against Chicago’s Lucas Giolito. Both starters have been excellent so far this season. Gausman, the veteran righty in his first year with the Jays, boasts a 2.25 earned-run average in 56 innings. On the other side, Giolito has a 2.63 ERA and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in all seven of his starts this season.

The White Sox had lost three of four before pulling out an extra-inning victory over the cross-town rival Chicago Cubs on Sunday to get back to .500 (23-23) on the season.

NHL: Western Conference Finals begin

While the Eastern Conference Finals matchup wasn’t set until the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, the Western Conference Finals are set to begin on Tuesday night with the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Edmonton Oilers for Game 1.

The Oilers, with star Connor McDavid leading the way, are making their first conference finals appearance since 2006. It’s been even longer for the Avalanche, who haven’t reached this stage since 2002.

For the series, the Avalanche are big favorites (-250) at BetMGM. The Oilers are +200 underdogs. For Game 1, which will be played in Denver, the Avalanche are -190 on the moneyline with the Oilers at +155.

Colorado is the current betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup at +120. The Tampa Bay Lightning, the two-time defending champions, are next at +230 with the Rangers at +500 and the Oilers at +550.

Djokovic, Nadal meet again in French Open

In tennis, the French Open continues on Tuesday and is highlighted by the men's singles quarterfinal matchup between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 ranked player, and Nadal, who has a record 21 Grand Slam victories, have faced off a record 58 times. Djokovic holds a 30-28 all-time lead head-to-head, but Nadal holds a 7-2 edge in the French Open.

This time around, Djokovic is a big favorite at -250. Nadal is +190. Djokovic is the defending French Open champion and has not lost a set so far in the tournament. Nadal, meanwhile, is coming off a four-plus hour match with Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round.

Full day of MLB

There’s also plenty of baseball.

In addition to the aforementioned White Sox vs. Blue Jays game, there are 15 others on the MLB schedule for Tuesday.

Included in the bunch are the scuffling Philadelphia Phillies as home favorites against the San Francisco Giants. The Phillies, who have lost four straight and 11 of their last 15, are -130 favorites with lefty Ranger Suarez on the mound. Suarez was a breakout star in 2021 but has been unable to replicate that success in 2022.

The Giants, in the midst of a 10-game road trip, took down the Phillies in 10 innings, 5-4, on Monday. On Tuesday, they are +110 underdogs at BetMGM with Jakob Junis on the mound.