MLB Baseball Betting: Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays
A very important series for the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend as they welcome the AL East leading Baltimore Orioles to the Rogers Centre for a three game series. The divisional race is very tight at the moment–both the Red Sox and Orioles were in action on Thursday while Toronto was idle. All records are pending those results. Baltimore has a two game advantage over the second place Blue Jays and a 2.5 game edge over the third place Boston Red Sox. The New York Yankees may join the ‘lead pack’ if they can maintain their solid form–they’ve won 7 of 10 and are now just 4 games back of the third place Red Sox and 6.5 games out of first.
The Blue Jays will start right hander Marco Estrada who has put up good numbers for most of the season though he hasn’t always gotten the help he needs from his teammates. Estrada has a 2.94 ERA overall with a 1.006 WHIP. At home, he’s got a 2.50 ERA with a 0.936 WHIP. The Blue Jays should really have a better record in his starts than they do: 9-8 overall and 5-4 at home. They’ve lost two of his last three starts and Estrada has a 4.24 ERA and a 1.176 WHIP in those games.
Baltimore will start right hander Kevin Gausman who has been in good form after putting up mediocre numbers for much of the season. Gausmann has a 3.77 ERA overall with a 1.266 WHIP. On the road, he’s got a 4.94 ERA with a 1.463 WHIP. The Orioles are 7-10 in his 17 starts overall and 3-7 on the road(Gaussman’s personal record on the road is 0-6). He’s looked better in his most recent starts with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.232 WHIP with the O’s winning 2 of his last 3. His last start was very good–against Cleveland on 7/23 he went 7 innings allowing just 4 hits, 0 earned runs and 7 K’s to just 3 walks.
Baltimore is coming off a strange schedule sequence as they made up a game in Minnesota on Thursday. They played at home on Wednesday, in St. Paul on Thursday and will be in Toronto on Friday. That’s a tough stretch. We’ll look for the Blue Jays to open this series with a win.
BET TORONTO BLUE JAYS -135 OVER BALTIMORE ORIOLES
