Baltimore Orioles vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction and Betting Odds August 8
Baltimore Orioles vs Toronto Blue Jays Betting Preview
WagerTalk MLB handicapper Andy Lang offers his analysis of Monday’s Baltimore Orioles vs Toronto Blue Jays clash at Oriole Park. The Orioles sit only four games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East standings heading into their 3-game series.
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| Monday, August 8 | MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
|---|---|
| Moneyline: | Baltimore Orioles +126 vs Toronto Blue Jays -150 |
| Runline: | Orioles +1.5 (-130) / Blue Jays -1.5 (+110) |
| Total: | 9 Runs (Over -130 / Under +110) |
| Game Time: | 7:05pm ET / 4:05pm PT |
| Where: | Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD |
| Weather: | 90 Degrees / 30-50% Chance of Rain |
Baltimore Orioles vs Toronto Blue Jays Analysis
The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles begin a three game series from Camden Yards on Monday evening. The Orioles fell just shy of a three game sweep at home over the Pittsburgh Pirates after losing 8-1 on Sunday.
The Blue Jays ended up splitting a four game series with the Minnesota Twins after a 3-2 extra inning victory yesterday afternoon. Baltimore will send the journeyman Jordan Lyles to the mound, while Toronto turns to the southpaw Yusei Kikuchi. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM EST/4:05 PST.
Baltimore Better Than Expectations
The Baltimore Orioles sit four games above .500 at 56-52 despite losing their last game 8-1 to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. Spenser Watkins took the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in 5.1 innings of work.
Shortstop Jorge Mateo was the only player with multiple & extra-base hits, going 2 for 3 with a solo-blast. Still, the Orioles are in a better position than anyone projected as they currently sit two games away from a Wild Card spot.
They have jumped out of the basement in the American League East despite being sellers at the trade deadline. Offense has been their calling card as they rank 19th in scoring and 22nd in batting average.
Pitching has been a bit better as they rank 11th with a team ERA of 3.84. The 31 year-old Jordan Lyles leads the O’s in both wins with eight and strikeouts with 104. He’s 8-8 with a 4.40 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. He was sharp in his last outing, holding the Texas Rangers to one run while scattering seven hits across 6.1 innings.
Jays Control AL Wild Card
The Toronto Blue Jays improved to 60-48 on the season after yesterday’s controversial 10th inning victory. In the top of the 10th Whit Merrifield was originally called out at home on a sacrifice fly but the called was overturned as catcher Gary Sanchez was deemed to have interfered with him.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was ejected after passionately debating the call and the Jays left town with a 2-2 split.
Kevin Gausman tossed six scoreless innings, scattering six hits and no walks while striking out five. Lourdes Gurriel Jr went 2 for 5 with a double and RBI, replacing the injured George Springer in the leadoff spot.
Toronto owns the first Wild Card spot with a two game lead on Seattle & Tampa Bay and a four game lead over Cleveland. The Blue Jays have an explosive offensive attack as they rank 3rd in runs scored, 3rd in OPS and 1st in batting average.
Yusei Kikuchi toes the rubber for Toronto on Monday. He will hope to turn his season around as he is 4-5 with a 4.86 ERA and 1.47 WHIP.
Control has been an issue for Kikuchi as he’s walked 43 batters across 74 innings, however he has also struck out 84. The veteran lefty pitched only four innings in his last outing while allowing two runs on three hits.
Baltimore Orioles vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction
The Toronto Blue Jays are road favorites with a -165 money line, while the Baltimore Orioles sit at +135 with a total of 9al . Both starters had similar head-to-head outings against the opposition, as Kikuchi gave up four runs in four innings while Lyles gave up four runs over 5.1 innings.
I do trust Lyles over Kikuchi, however this Jays offense is an absolute juggernaut that has hammered better pitchers. Several Toronto hitters have solid numbers against Lyles, including the newly acquired Whit Merrifield. The Baltimore pen is outstanding but they will have their hands full with this group.
Kikuchi not only struggles with control, he can’t pitch very deep into games and the Jays are a middling bullpen by most stats. The total has went over in 14 of the Jays last 19 games on the road against a team with a winning record. The Orioles have seen four of their last five games finish over the total.
Surprisingly these division rivals have only played four times so far this season. The games were in Toronto, but all four went well over this number, combining for 12 twice and 13 twice. The over is the only way to look here.
Prediction: Over 9 -130
First Pitch | MLB Predictions for Monday, August 8
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Meet the Author
Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.
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