Toronto Blue Jays fans will be hoping that their team can make a splash and make a move up the American League East, but regardless of results, they can always make a few wagers to make the game more interesting. Here are a few statistics to pay attention to when betting on MLB baseball.

Starting pitchers are a massive part of how sportsbooks (and clients that use price per head software) set their lines, so when looking at pitchers, you should start with their ERA (Earned Run Average) and WHIP (Walks + Hits per Innings Pitched). ERA shows how many runs a pitcher gives up against the number of innings he has pitched, while WHIP states exactly what their name says. For example, the Cy Young winner in both leagues, Detroit’s Justin Verlander and Los Angeles’ Clayton Kershaw, were tops in their respective leagues in both categories, so it’s a solid sign of a pitcher’s ability.

As for offense, you should look at how many runs a team scores, because stats like batting average and home runs aren’t really indicative of a team’s skills. In baseball, the point of the game is to score more runs than the other team, no matter how you do it. This also helps when it comes to betting on totals, which is the number of total runs that two teams will score in a game.

These are just a couple of factors to consider when betting on baseball at your favorite sports betting websites.

The Toronto Blue Jays and other baseball teams are out on the market looking to improve their teams, but no one is making a splash like Miami, as the new-look Marlins are ready to splash some cash. They’ve lured one star to South Beach and now, they’ve at least driven up the asking price of the biggest fish on the free-agent market.

Shortstop Jose Reyes left the National League East rival New York Mets to head south, signing a six-year, $106 million deal and he instantly boosts the Marlins’ chance among those who purchase bookie software. When he is healthy and motivated, Reyes is the game’s best base-stealer, an excellent hitter and a Gold Glove candidate, but he’ll probably force out Hanley Ramirez, who doesn’t want to move to third base.

Albert Pujols is still mulling over a ten-year offer from the Marlins that some say would pay him over $200 million and there are post-playing provisions in the contract as well. Pujols has been in St. Louis for his entire career and will end up in the Hall of Fame, but the Marlins are aggressive courting Pujols, who, like Reyes, would help the Marlins capitalize on the large Latin population in Miami.

Miami is also in the hunt for pitchers C.J. Wilson (Texas) and Mark Buerhle (Chicago White Sox), and after years of being frugal, a new stadium has energized the franchise and they’re now willing to spend. They’ve claimed Reyes, and they’ll get at least one more star to come to Miami, who should be on your sports betting online radar.

Toronto Blue Jays fans know all about what Detroit’s Justin Verlander can do as the Tigers ace no-hit the Blue Jays earlier this year, and there was no resistance when he was given the Cy Young award. But he was also awarded the MVP this week and some analysts feel the wrong player was honored. Here is why Justin Verlander was given the Most Valuable Player award.

There was no standout player in the American League this year, and there are reasons why Verlander stood above the rest. Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury was excellent, but after the Red Sox imploded, his MVP chances went with it. Toronto’s Jose Bautista continued to put up monster numbers, but the Blue Jays’ record didn’t help. New York’s Curtis Granderson and Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera were also in the running, but really, were they much better than Ellsbury or Bautista?

When it comes to Cabrera, could you say he was more valuable than his teammate, Verlander? The righthander led the American League in wins (24), innings (251.0), strikeouts (250), ERA (2.40) and WHIP (0.92), and he had a much larger effect on Detroit’s price per head odds than Cabrera, and more than any other “player”.

Another stat for you: Verlander was 16-3 after a Tigers’ loss, and that was huge for his teammates, who could have gotten in the dumps in the middle of a skid. With Verlander on the hill every fifth day (his 133-pitch performance in Game 5 of the ALCS against Texas was his best of the season), they knew they were probably going to win, and he saved Detroit’s bullpen at points because of his ability to go deep into games. Because of Verlander, in 2012, Detroit will earn some respect in online sportsbooks.

The Toronto Blue Jays are one of the teams that many insiders think are going to be a factor in the offseason when it comes to picking up new players, and they have a good chance to move up the ranks in the American League East, as Boston is in disarray, the New York Yankees are getting older and tied up by untradeable contracts, and Tampa Bay, well, they’ll hang around somehow because that is what they do. Their biggest question mark seems to be the bullpen and specifically, the closer: the Blue Jays blew 25 saves in 2011, and only Houston had a lower percentage of converted saves. Here is a look at a few options for Toronto.

Heath Bell, San Diego

Bell had 43 saves last season and blew only five, which is a good way for a team to boost their chances at a price per head service. He hasn’t had fewer than 42 saves in the last three years, but has he been protected by a pitcher-friendly park in San Diego?

Francisco Rodriguez, Milwaukee

“K-Rod” split closer duties with John Axford and may want to be the full-time closer somewhere, so he’ll be an option if he brings down his asking price, which could be close to $18 million. But at 30 years old, he still has a lot of good years left.

Frank Francisco, Toronto

The Blue Jays released Jon Rauch and kept Francisco, who was much better after the All-Star break and took the closer’s role. But does Toronto trust him enough to offer another contract? That will be the key to their chances if you bet on sports.

Toronto Blue Jays fans are even getting in on the action right now in the World Series, as Texas and St. Louis are down to the championship rounds, as boxing fans would call it. The Rangers have a 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6, which will now be held on Thursday due to weather issues

The Rangers are -270 favorites according to cost per head odds, and they managed to earn a split in the first two games of the series in St. Louis, so sportsbooks are betting that they can do it again, which would give them a World Series win. Mike Napoli has been a monster, hitting .308 with a pair of homers and nine RBIs in the first five games of the Series.

The Cardinals are rated at +230, and even though Albert Pujols had a historic Game 3, he hasn’t done much since. Still, he’s been the most productive Cardinal in the World Series as Lance Berkman (.389), David Freese (.313) and Yadier Molina (.294) hit for power, but they have nine RBIs between them. The Cardinals have also had some issues in the bullpen and you could argue that the Series should be over, if not for a blown chance by Jason Motte in Game 2 and communication problems between the bullpen and dugout in Game 5.

It’s going to fun to watch Game 6 and 7, and the pitching matchups could be thrown for a loop, so confirm who will be on the mound in your online sportsbooks.

In less than two weeks time, the MLB will be crowning the World Series Champion for the 2011 season. Four amazing teams remain, as the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers battle to win the American League pennant. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals are battling it out for the National League pennant. By all accounts, if we look at the bookie software odds, the right teams are leading each series, as Texas and St. Louis are considered the favorites to meet for the World Series. Today we will give you our picks for the World Series finalists.

Despite being down two games to one, look for the Detroit Tigers to bounce back and take the AL Championship away from the Texas Rangers. The Tigers never say die attitude, has allowed the team to come back and put up impressive numbers at different points this season. For instance, the Tigers trailed the Cleveland Indians by seven games for the AL sports betting Central title at the All Star Break, before coming back and winning the division by a remarkable 10 games. Then in the playoffs, the Tigers took on the New York Yankees and defeated them in five games, before coming back in last night against Texas. Detroit’s resiliency will be what helps them make it back to the World Series for the first time since 2006.

On the other hand, we believe that the Milwaukee Brewers will discover a way to win on the road, as they mount a comeback against divisional rivals the St. Louis Cardinals. Milwaukee is facing their first true test of adversity this season, as the Cardinals have tied the series at one game apiece. Milwaukee hasn’t gone to the World Series since 1982, and with Prince Fielder looking to make this his final year in Wisconsin, Milwaukee will send him out with a bang, by winning the World Series.

After watching the Boston Red Sox go down as the consensus sports betting favorite to win the American League Championship Series, the Philadelphia Phillies aren’t taking anything for granted as they get set to clash with the St. Louis Cardinals in game four of the NLDS. The Cardinals were the NL version of the Tampa Bay Rays this season, and it is up to the Phillies to make sure that they aren’t upset in the opening playoff round by a team that has been playing baseball as though it were the playoffs since the end of August.

Philadelphia Phillies @ St. Louis Cardinals

Wednesday, 6:07 PM ET

Game four will feature the MLB depth of the Phillies’ rotation, with Roy Oswalt getting the call as the fourth man in the starting rotations even though he would be the No. 1 for some teams around the league. Oswalt will need to find his ace game in order to give his team another shot on the road, but it isn’t all on his shoulders. The Phillies’ offense will need to produce against Cardinals’ starter Edwin Jackson, who allowed two runs or less in all but one of his appearances in September. The pressure will be on Philadelphia to get the job done against a team that arguably shouldn’t even be there, and that will make a difference as St. Louis approaches this game with a greater focus and calmer price per head demeanor.

MLB Betting Pick: St. Louis Cardinals

The MLB betting spotlight is always the brightest when everyone is looking. If that is not true, then the Boston Red Sox likely would have found a cure to what has been ailing them throughout the month of September. However, the problem at Fenway Park isn’t one that can just be fixed by trying harder, as sometimes the more you try the more you lose that natural rhythm. For the amount of talent that the Red Sox have, there is little doubt that they should be in a better situation at this point. Still, it is unlikely that they will have an easy time clinching the American League Wild Card.

After earning a split in a sports betting doubleheader against the lowly Baltimore Orioles on Monday, the Red Sox sat two games up on the Tampa Bay Rays for the Wild Card spot. Losers of 12 of their last 15, Boston will play out its remaining eight games against the Orioles and New York Yankees, including their final six on the road. That trip could end up being a blessing in disguise for the Fenway faithful, as the Red Sox won’t have to deal with the media pressure at home or playing in front of their fans. In the end, it is still very likely that Boston will reach the postseason, only don’t take a relatively light schedule as a reason to make them a sports betting priority, at least not until they can prove mentally tough enough to break out of their bass fishing slump.

While the New York Yankees are on top of the American League East division now and in line for the pennant, it may not be long before they fall behind again. Too many times this season the Yankees have swapped positions with the Boston Red Sox at the top, and the reason is simple. While the pinstripes boast a ton of talent, they do not have the depth to perform on a consistent enough basis to lock up the division, so just when they begin to pull away, you can bet that their fishing line will hit a snag.

Heading into the MLB betting week the Yankees have won five straight, and are beginning to build a little separation at the top. They had no trouble at home against the Toronto Blue Jays, and have carried that momentum into their series with the Baltimore Orioles, two teams that they absolutely have to beat. However, a nine-game road trip is right around the corner and while the Seattle Mariners and Blue Jays are part of that long trip, it does open with a Los Angeles Angels team that is battling to remain in contention. There are a ton of reasons to bank on the Yankees making the postseason, and possibly even locking up an AL pennant. But beware of the team’s inconsistent play, because New York could be due for a couple of sports betting surprises when they leave home later in the week.

Following a 4-1 loss to open their three-game MLB betting series against the Washington Nationals, the Arizona Diamondbacks were quickly approaching the low point of their season if not already there. Losers of six in a row, the Diamondbacks were barely hanging on to the top spot in the National League West, with a one-game lead over the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants. If not for so many injuries to their NL West-rivals the Giants may have already passed them for first place, but as it stands Arizona is still in the driver seat. That will be a key as the Diamondbacks look to turn things around in a major way over the next 10 days, as they enter one of the most crucial parts of their schedule.

Following the remainder of their series against Washington, the Diamondbacks will return home for consecutive series’ against two of the worst teams in their division. Arizona will host the struggling San Diego Padres for three-straight before taking on the Colorado Rockies, which will be their final tune up before heading to the Bay Area to take on the Giants in a series that could determine first place in the NL West. Things may have not gone well for Arizona over the past seven days, but look for them to turn things around and solidify their position at the top of the NL West over the next 10 sports betting days.