Ideally, clinching a division or winning a championship is something that teams like to do in front of their own fans. The schedule Gods often have different ideas, though, but winning in front of an unappreciative crowd does not diminish a great accomplishment. The Toronto Blue Jays clinched the AL East in Baltimore, and now they have the chance to secure the number one seed in the AL when they head to Tampa to face the Rays on Friday and we have the MLB odds for you, just by clicking here.
Taking a Look at the Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays MLB Expert Betting Pick & Game Info
Date: Friday, October 02, 2015 Time: 7:10PM Venue: Tropicana Field
.@shawngreen15 with a message for the 2015 AL East Champs! #ComeTogether #Mojo pic.twitter.com/J7Iq0X17yk
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) October 1, 2015
Many people now have the Blue Jays (92-66) as the team to beat in the American League, and for very good reason. They have been far and away the best team in baseball in the second half of the season, and have enough power in their line-up to strike fear into the most dominant pitchers in the game. That said, they have been a whole lot better at home than they have been on the road this season, with an impressive 53-28 record at Rogers Center. You can see now why the top seed in the AL would be so beneficial to them, and why they are unlikely to give too many guys a day off until they have clinched it. The Jays are a game up on the Royals for that spot right now, and could clinch it with a win in their final game against Baltimore, plus one more in Tampa. Mark Buehrle (14-7, 3.76 ERA) will start for Toronto.
The Rays (77-81) are 5-3 in their last 8 games, but all 3 of those losses came at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays. Tampa Bay are actually in a bit of a bind at the moment, as they are at the bottom of the division and in danger of staying there if they can’t get anything out of the Blue Jays series. When you have had a season as disappointing as the Rays have had, you look for small victories wherever you can find them. Avoiding the AL East basement would be small indeed, but it would help them end their season on something of a positive note. The problem is that in order for that to happen, they are going to have to find a way to slow the Blue Jays down, which they certainly could not do last time of asking. Erasmo Ramirez (11-6, 3.65 ERA) broke out of a 6-game winless skid with a victory in his last start.
