After battling for the East Division title throughout the summer, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles won the two wild-card spots in the American League playoffs on the final day of the regular season.
The two teams clinched their playoff spots as the Orioles beat the New York Yankees and the Blue Jays defeated the A.L. East champion Boston Red Sox.
The Jays actually won their playoff spot about 45 minutes prior to finishing off their victory. The clinching moment took place when the Atlanta Braves beat the Detroit Tigers and eliminated them from playoff contention.
The Blue Jays will host the Orioles in the Wild Card Game Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre. TBS will televise the game at 8 p.m. ET.
Both teams finished with 89-73 records, but the the Blue Jays earned home field in this matchup since they won the season series by a razor-thin 10-9 margin.
The winner of the Wild Card Game will meet the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series, since Texas finished as the top seed in the American League.
The Orioles and the Blue Jays had designs on winning the division title as both teams had the lead at various points throughout the summer. However, when the Red Sox won 11 games in a row in September, both teams had to scramble to make the playoffs.
The Orioles have played solid baseball throughout the final month of the season, with the exception of getting swept in a four-game series at home by the Red Sox. Baltimore finished the season by going 17-12 in September and October.
The Orioles went 10-5 in their last 15 road games.
Manager Buck Showalter was not ready to say who would start against the Blue Jays, but it appears that he will most likely hand the ball to Chris Tillman or Ubaldo Jimenez.
The Blue Jays started the month of September with the lead in the American League East, but their powerful hitting attack struggled with its consistency, and their bullpen had issues.
Their 13-16 record in their last 29 games indicates that the Jays are not in top form, but they won two pressure-packed games in Boston to potentially right their ship.
It seems likely that Marcus Stroman or Francisco Liriano will get the start Tuesday night for the Jays, but manager John Gibbons has not announced his starting pitcher.
The Blue Jays and Orioles are powerful, slugging teams capable of hitting the long ball with regularity. The Blue Jays will depend on Josh Donaldson (37 HR, 99 RBI), Edwin Encarnacion (42 HR, 127 RBI), Jose Bautista (22 HR) and Troy Tulowitzki (24 HR) for the bulk of their production.
The Orioles are built in a similar manner, and they need Manny Machado (37 HR, 96 RBI), American League home run leader Mark Trumbo (47 HR), Chris Davis (38 HR) and Adam Jones (29 HR and 83 RBI) to produce.
Prediction
While neither team has announced its starting pitching, this game figures to come down to how well both teams handle the final innings.
Having a lead late in the game would be a good thing for the Blue Jays with the talented and powerful arm of Roberto Osuna (36 saves in 41 opportunities, 2.68 earned-run average), but it would be a near-lock for the Orioles with Zach Britton (47 saves in 47 opportunities, 0.54 ERA). Britton is a legitimate Cy Young contender, and his remarkable sinker is almost impossible to hit.
Playing at home should be an advantage for the Blue Jays, but the Orioles played better baseball during September-October, and they played particularly well on the road.
Look for Machado to drive in the go-ahead run in the late innings and Britton to preserve the lead with a shutdown ninth inning.
Baltimore advances to the American League Division Series with a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays and their raucous fans.
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