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It is an AL East showdown as the Toronto Blue Jays visit the Baltimore Orioles. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Blue Jays-Orioles prediction, pick, and how-to watch.
The Orioles offense dominated game one of the series, with 17 hits in an 11-6 victory. They got to Chris Bassitt early, tagging him for 11 hits and eight runs in just three innings. Gunnar Henderson, Aaron Hicks, and Ryan O'Hearn all hit home runs in the game, and the Orioles came away with an easy win. Game two saw the Orioles' offense shut down. Jose Berrios took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. George Spring hit a home run in the sixth to open the scoring for the Blue Jays, as Bo Bichette and Whit Merrifield added RBIs in the eighth to give the Jays a 3-0 lead. Aaron Hicks got the Orioles a run in the ninth, but it was not enough as game two went to the Jays
Here are the Blue Jays-Orioles MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Blue Jays-Orioles Odds
Toronto Blue Jays: +1.5 (-182)
Baltimore Orioles: -1.5 (+150)
Over: 9 (+100)
Under: 9 (-122)
How To Watch Blue Jays vs. Orioles
TV: SNET/MASN
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 1:05 PM ET/ 10:05 AM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Blue Jays Could Cover The Spread
For the Blue Jays, it all starts with an offense that is second in batting average, third in on-base percentage, and 11th in runs scored. That offense starts with Bo Bichette. Bichette is the team leading in batting average, home runs, and RBIs this year. His .319 batting average is fourth in the majors this year, as he also is in the top 20 in home runs and RBIs. He has not been as dominant as of late though. Bichette is hitting just .255 this month with six RBIs. He had a streak of struggling with strikeouts but has not had one in this series.
While Bichette has struggled some this month, Whit Merrifield is not. Merrifield is eighth in the majors this year with a .308 batting average. He is hitting .386 on the month with a .471 on-base percentage. He has hits in 11 of 13 games this month, with five games of multiple hits. The issue for him and the Blue Jays as of late, is scoring when he gets on base. After scoring 17 times in May, Merrifield has scored just twice this month.
Starting for the Blue Jays today will be Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi is 6-2 on the year with a 4.34 ERA. His last three starts have been almost identical. In all three starts, he has gone five innings, giving up at least three hits, one home run, and two runs overall. The Blue Jays are 2-1 in those three starts. If Kikuchi can hold enough of a lead for the Blue Jays to get to the closer, the Jays have one of the best. Jordan Romano has been great this year. He has 19 saves on the year with a 1.18 ERA.
Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread
After scoring 28 runs over three games, the Orioles' offense finally had an off night last night. Still, the offense has been stellar this year. They are seventh in slugging percentage and eighth in runs scored this year. They have done this with a 14th-ranked batting average and 15th-ranged on-base percentage. The Orioles also could have one of their top bats back soon. Cedric Mullins has begun working towards his return from a groin injury. He has been one of the major leaders in the offense all year long, and it will be a huge boost to get him back.
In the meantime, Gunnar Henderson has been playing great as of late. He is hitting .424 on the month while driving in 11 runs and hitting five home runs. His OPS on the month was 1.350 as well. Yesterday ended a streak of four straight games with multiple hits, and three straight games with a home run. This month he has doubled his home run total for the year and raised his batting average by 40 points. Aaron Hicks has also been a nice addition to the lineup. He is hitting .351 since coming to the Orioles while driving in six runs and hitting two home runs.
Pitching for the Orioles today will be Tyler Wells. Wells is 5-2 on the year with a 3.24 ERA. Like Kikuchi, his last three starts have been very similar. He has given up two or fewer runs while going at least 5.1 innings in all three of them. His best start of the last three was a six-inning outing in which he gave up just one run. It was also his only loss of the last three games.
Final Blue Jays-Orioles Prediction & Pick
The Orioles normally do not struggle on back-to-back days. They have been held to three or fewer runs in back-to-back games just six times this year. In four of those six times, they won one of the two games though. The two pitchers going today have been very similar. They are both probably going to give up two runs in roughly six innings of work. It then will come down to the bullpen. Romano has been great for the Jays, but the combination of Yennier Cano and Felix Bautista forms one of the best bullpens in the league. That gives the Orioles the late win.
Final Blue Jays-Orioles Prediction & Pick: Orioles -1.5 (+150)
