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It is an AL East showdown as the Toronto Blue Jays face the Baltimore Orioles. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Blue Jays-Orioles prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Blue Jays enter the game after taking two of three from the Reds over the weekend. With those two wins, the Blue Jays are now 69-56 on the season, which places them 8.5 games behind the Orioles in the division. Meanwhile, they are a game behind the Seattle Mariners in the race for the last Wild Card spot as the Mariners have won seven straight games. The Blue Jays seem primed to make a run at the playoffs this year, and beating the Orioles would go a long way in that chase.
The Orioles come in after sweeping the Oakland Athletics over the weekend. They have now won seven of their last ten games and sit at 77-47 on the year. They have already hit the over on their pre-season win total of 76.5 games, and currently have the best record in the American League. Still, the second-best record in the league is held by the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles currently have a three-game lead on them and will be looking to hold on.
Here are the Blue Jays-Orioles MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Blue Jays-Orioles Odds
Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+172)
Baltimore Orioles: +1.5 (-210)
Over: 8 (-118)
Under: 8 (-104)
How To Watch Blue Jays vs. Orioles
TV: Sportsnet/MASN2
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:05 PM ET/ 4:05 PM 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 was great pitching that got them two wins over the Reds. They allowed just seven runs in the three games but did lose one of them 1-0. On the season, the Blue Jays are first in the majors in team ERA, while sitting seventh in WHIP and sixth in opponent batting average. It will be Yusei Kikuchi on the mound for the Blue Jays today. He is 9-4 on the season with a 3.44 ERA. He has been stellar in his last six starts. In those starts, he has given up one or fewer earned runs in each of them. Since mid-July, he has pitched 35 innings, giving up just five earned runs, good for a 1.29 ERA.
Meanwhile, the offense has been solid for the most part. In the last six games, they have scored 33 runs, with 28 of them coming in wins. For the season, they are 17th in runs scored, with a seventh-ranked batting average and on-base percentage, and 14th-ranked slugging. While playing five games in the last week, it has truly been a team effort in scoring. No guy has more than three RBIs or three runs scored. Still, four guys have three RBIS, and three have scored three runs.
One of those guys is Daulton Varsho, who has been hitting well. In the last week, he is hitting .385 while sitting with a .556 on-base percentage. He has a home run and two doubles which have led to the three RBIs and three runs scored. He has also stolen a bade in the last week. Meanwhile, Cavan Biggo is driving in runs, but struggling at the plate. He is hitting just .214 but does have a .389 OBP. He has three RBIs and two runs scored in the last week but does not have an extra-base hit. The most power in the lineup has come from Brandon Belt. He has two home runs in the last week while hitting .286. He has also walked three times giving him a .412 on-base percentage.
Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread
The Oriole's offense continues to cook. On the year they are seventh in the majors in runs scored, while sitting 12th in batting average, 17th in on-base percentage, and ninth in slugging. Gunnar Henderson comes in on fire. He is hitting .455 in the last week with a .500 on-base percentage. He has two doubles, a triple, and two home runs in the last week, giving him six RBIs and six runs scored. This continues a solid month for him. While Henderson is hitting .284 this month with a .316 OBP, he has five doubles, a triple, and four home runs. This has led to him having 16 RBIs this month.
Meanwhile, Adley Rutschman continues to drive in runs. This month he is hitting .292 with a .366 on-base percentage. With the help of four doubles, a tiples, and two home runs, he has driven in 12 runs this month. The young catcher has also scored 13 times this month. Austin Hays has joined the RBI party as of late. In the last five games, he is hitting .316 with five RBIs. He has done this with three doubles and two home runs. He also has stolen a base and scored four times. His five RBIs does not lead the team in the last week though. Those honors go to Henderson and Ryan Mountcastle. Mountcastle has six RBIs in the last week while scoring five times. He is hitting .333 over that period and has hit two home runs.
The Orioles send Grayson Rodriguez to the mound today. He is 3-3 on the season with a 5.44 ERA. He has been much better as of late though. In his last six starts, he has given up 12 runs in 35.2 innings of work, with the Orioles going 3-3 in those games. That is good for a 3.03 ERA in those games. One of the starts is against the Blue Jays. In that game, he went 5.2 innings giving up just three runs. The Orioles did lose 4-1 though.
Final Blue Jays-Orioles Prediction & Pick
Both of these pitchers have been very effective as of late. While Rodriguez started badly, he has rebounded and been solid. Meanwhile, Kikuchi has been one of the best pitchers in the majors since Mid-July. The offense will be the difference in this game. The Blue Jays have been hitting .200 over the last week, while the Orioles are up at .310. The Blue Jays have scored 20 runs with seven home runs. Meanwhile, the Orioles have 33 runs with eight home runs. The Orioles also have 30 more total bases than the Blue Jays in the last week. Take a low-scoring game, but the Orioles win.
Final Blue Jays-Orioles Prediction & Pick: Orioles +1.5 (-210)