In a possible series-clinching game and a chance to move on to the ALDS, the Seattle Mariners will take on the Toronto Blue Jays for Game 2 of the AL Wild Card. With this highly anticipated matchup on tap for this afternoon, it is time to take a look at our MLB odds series,  where our Mariners-Blue Jays prediction and pick will be made.

With one win standing between taking another step closer to capturing their first-ever World Series, Seattle has the chance to make history on Saturday. It will be the southpaw Robby Ray who will make the Game 2 start in this one, as the lefty will dominate the headlines leading up to the first pitch after capturing the AL Cy Young as a member of the Blue Jays a season ago. Ray is 0-2 with a 5.59 ERA in three postseason appearances.

Alas, the opposite could be said about the Toronto Blue Jays, as the only baseball team residing in Canada now have their backs up against the wall and could see their season come to an end if they do not improve in several areas from yesterday.  On the mound trying to save the day for Toronto will be RHP Kevin Gausman, who is 0-1 with a 3.94 ERA in his six career postseason appearances.

Here are the Mariners-Blue Jays MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

AL Wild Card Odds: Mariners-Blue Jays Odds

Seattle Mariners: +1.5 (-144)

Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+120)

Over: 7.5 (-108)

Under: 7.5 (-112)

Why The Mariners Could Cover The Spread

In their first taste of postseason action in more than two decades, the Mariners certainly did not look unaccustomed to the big stage as they went into Toronto and dominated in every facet of the game on their way to a 1-0 series lead. After a dominating Game 1 start from Luis Castillo who ended up pitching 7 1/3 innings of shutout baseball and showed no signs of fatigue as he consistently threw absolute cheddar even in the later frames.

Simply put, a replicate performance from Robby Ray would do this team wonders in giving them a chance to survive and advance to the next round and cover the spread in doing so. Throughout the regular season, Ray has not been able to get it going like he did in his career-best season a year ago with an even 12-12 record and posting a 3.71 ERA up in the Pacific Northwest. Regardless, Ray still possesses an electric arm that can make bats miss with the best of them.

As impressive as the shutout that this pitching staff was able to dial up yesterday, the Mariners got off to an extremely fast start by quickly scoring three runs in the opening frame of the game before coming up rather stagnant the rest of the way. When it comes to playoff baseball, it is vital for teams to secure clutch hits and find ways to capitalize with men-on base. The pressure is at an all-time high, and with an offense that is awfully young but still very lethal, Seattle will need their bats to show up in a big way to put the finishing touches on the Blue Jays season.

Why The Blue Jays Could Cover The Spread

Without a doubt, losing to the Mariners this afternoon would prove to be a major disappointment after Toronto has experienced an extremely successful season with a total of 92 wins on the year. Not to mention, but the Blue Jays also have reeled off a pretty solid 47-34 record at home too. Simply put, the Blue Jays need to put an end to a current six-game losing streak to Seattle as the Mariners have had their number this season.

For starters, the Blue Jays are certainly more concerned about staving off elimination rather than covering the spread, but if they are going to win by at least -1.5 runs, then this supposedly dangerous offensive attack will need to show up in a big way. Coming into the postseason, Toronto had not been blanked on the scoreboard in their previous 20 games and will need to live up to the season-long hype at the plate, or else they will be haunted by this year's shortcomings for a prolonged amount of time. Toronto is hoping that it was just a slight hiccup and nothing else, as the Blue Jays have outscored their opponents by 18 runs in their last ten matchups combined.

In yesterday's loss, the Blue Jays got off to a rocky start with their ace on the mound, and it will be vital for Toronto to get in a rhythm early to instill any confidence that may have been lost in the Game 1 defeat. Fortunately, Gausman has accumulated a combined 2.74 ERA in seven career starts lifetime against the Mariners, so Toronto's season may come down to the 31-year-old hard-throwing hurler.

Final Mariners-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick

It all comes down to this! Can the Blue Jays live to see another day, or will the Mariners win their first playoff series since 2001? The way the current odds stand, it would be wise to side with Seattle's ability to get the job done by covering the +1.5 run spread out on the road.

Final Mariners-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick: Mariners +1.5 (-140)