This Wednesday the (75-59) Toronto Blue Jays and the (71-64) Baltimore Orioles will play the final game of this four-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 7:05 PM EST inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The last time that these two teams matched up, the Orioles were able to escape with the series win. The Toronto Blue Jays did win the first two games of this series, though.
The Toronto Blue Jays are coming into this one after a tough series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. They ended up sweeping them in three games, as they looked incredible on the mound. They made it extremely tough for Pittsburgh to score, as they just slowly pulled away in each game.
The Baltimore Orioles are entering this one after winning their previous series against the Oakland Athletics. They took the first two games of that three-game series, as they also looked great on the mound. They only allowed three combi ned runs in their two wins, as they will be looking to keep it rolling in this one.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Toronto Blue Jays are currently holding the third and final AL Wild Card spot, as the Baltimore Orioles are nipping at their heels. Luckily, the Blue Jays are 7-3 in their last 10 and they have won five games in a row. Unfortunately, Toronto is still in third place in the AL East, as they are still 5.5 games back from the first-place New York Yankees.
At the plate, the Blue Jays are scoring 4.72 runs per game and they are hitting .260 as a team. This is the sixth most runs scored per game and the second-highest overall team batting average, as they have been getting it done at the plate this season. They have made a ton of contact with the ball and they are consistently loading the bases against their opponents. The Blue Jays also have one of the deepest batting lineups in the league, as they have multiple guys that can change a game with one swing of the bat. They are hitting 1.24 home runs per game, which is the eighth most in the league. I also expect them to stay fairly conservative once they have reached base safely. They allow their bats to move base runners into scoring position. They have also only stolen 55 bases this season, which is the 22nd least in the MLB.
According to MLB.com, the Blue Jays will be starting Alek Manoah on the mound. He has been a beast this season, as he is 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. In his last start, he pitched for 7.1 innings and he only allowed five hits and zero earned runs. He completely shut down the Pirates, as he will be coming into this game with a ton of confidence. Manoah has also been a road warrior this season, as he is 7-3 with a 2.33 ERA outside of his home ballpark. The Toronto Blue Jays bullpen has also been solid this season, as they are allowing the 12th least amount of runs per game. As a team, they are allowing 4.23 runs per game, which is the 13th least in the league this season.