The grueling 162-game MLB regular season schedule is over, and there are now only 10 teams left standing. By the time Wednesday night draws to a close, that number will be down to eight, as two Wild Card teams will see their season come to an end. In the American League, it’s an East Division clash, with the Baltimore Orioles heading into Toronto to face the Blue Jays on Wednesday night. There was very little to separate these two in the regular season, with both teams finishing up with an identical 89-73 record. The Jays had the tie-breaker, and will get the advantage of playing in front of their home fans. The winner of this game will have to square off against the Texas Rangers in the ALDS, so it really is all to play for. The Blue Jays have been given the slight edge by the bookies for this game, but the season series between these two was incredibly tight, so you can bet that Toronto will be taking nothing for granted. Find the latest betting odds here.
A Closer Look At The Orioles At Blue Jays MLB Winning Predictions
When: Tuesday, October 4 at 8 PM EST
Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto
TV: TBS
Live Stream: MLB.tv
MLB Odds: TBA
Why bet on the Baltimore Orioles
While the Baltimore Orioles would certainly sooner be playing this one at home, they can take heart in the fact that they took 2 of 3 from the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre a couple of weeks back. Baltimore finished the season very strong, going 7-3 in their last 10 games, and were unfortunate not to jump ahead of the Jays coming down the stretch. Overall, the Orioles went 9-10 versus the Jays this season, which includes a 4-6 record when playing on the road. It’s easy to see why they come into this one as the underdog, but this is a team on a good run of form at the moment, so they really cannot be counted out. The O’s will be sending Chris Tillman (16-6, 3.77 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday. Tillman is just 3-4 in his last 10 starts.
Why bet on the Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays punched their playoff ticket by closing out the season with a 6-4 record in their last 10 games. Getting the home field advantage for this game was huge, as the Jays are definitely a much better home team, going 46-35 at the Rogers Centre this season. The biggest downside for the Jays is that they will have Marcus Stroman (9-19, 4.37 ERA) heading to the mound. The Jays always seem to struggle offensively when he is on the mound, and you have to go all the way back to August to find the last time that Stroman recorded a win. That said, the Jays do have that home winning record over Baltimore this season.
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
While Stroman starting for the Jays worries me a little, I still think that Toronto can come out and get the win. I imagine that this is going to be a close one, though, and it’s going to go right down to the wire.
