Tag: Preview/Prediction

MLB Playoffs 2016: Latest Bracket, Format Details and World Series Predictions

If the MLB postseason follows the same course the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles traveled Tuesday night, October will be a month to remember.

The Blue Jays picked up a 5-2 win in the one-game American League Wild Card Round at the Rogers Centre when slugger Edwin Encarnacion slammed a three-run homer off Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the 11th inning, sending the home team into the American League Division Series against the AL West champion Texas Rangers.

That best-of-five series will get underway Thursday in Texas, with the Rangers holding home-field advantage.

The other American League series will feature the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians. The Red Sox won the AL East, outlasting the Blue Jays and Orioles thanks to an 11-game winning streak in September that saw them leave their two competitors behind.

The Indians gained control of the AL Central in the middle of the season thanks to a solid pitching staff and the sharp managing of Terry Francona. The Indians have home-field advantage in the series that also gets underway Thursday.

The two ALDS winners will meet in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series in mid-October, and the winner of that series will represent the Junior Circuit in the World Series.

The American League representative will have home-field advantage in the World Series, thanks to the American League’s 4-2 victory in the All-Star Game in July.

The National League Wild Card Game has a chance to join the American League game as a true classic. The San Francisco Giants may have slumped throughout the second half of the season, but they survived and will face the New York Mets at Citi Field in New York Wednesday night.

The Giants will send postseason ace Madison Bumgarner to the mound against Noah Syndergaard, and this should turn into a pitcher’s duel of epic proportions. 

But it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes a classic pitcher’s duel becomes a slugfest, and that could happen if neither pitcher is at his best.

The winner will earn the right to play the powerful Chicago Cubs in the National League Division Series.

The Cubs won 103 regular-season games, and this is supposed to be their year. However, the best regular-season team doesn’t always win, and when a team carries the burden of not having won a World Series since 1908, it may not be an easy run to the title that long-suffering Cubs fans are waiting to see.

The other National League series will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the Washington Nationals. Manager Dusty Baker’s Nats have home-field advantage in that one.

If the Cubs beat the wild-card winner, they will host the National League Championship Series against the Nats or Dodgers. If the Cubs fall short, the Los Angeles-Washington winner will have the home-field edge against the wild-card winner.

       

Prediction

The Red Sox had an indifferent final week of the season that saw them lose five of their final six games, which cost them home field against the Indians.

However, the Red Sox have the much more potent lineup, and they also have the healthier starting pitching. Look for Mookie Betts, David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia to lead the Red Sox to a four-game win over the Indians.

The Blue Jays and Rangers engaged in a nasty playoff series a year ago, with the Blue Jays emerging victorious in five games. Look for the Rangers to win the series this year, also in five games.

The Red Sox will outlast Texas in six games in the ALCS, as Ortiz and Betts outslug the dangerous Rangers.

In the National League, the Giants and Bumgarner will outduel the Mets and Syndergaard. That will give San Francisco a chance to exercise its postseason muscle against the Cubs, but after Chicago nervously loses the first two games of the series at home, manager Joe Maddon’s team finds its stride and wins three straight.

The Dodgers will use their pitching edge to punish the Nats and win that series in four games. The Dodgers will push the Cubs hard, but Chicago will overcome past demons and win the NL pennant in seven games.

That will lead to a classic World Series between the Red Sox and the Cubs. The Red Sox used to be the team that couldn’t win the big one, but that has changed with three World Series titles since 2004.

They will use the motivation of Big Papi’s last stand to win the World Series in seven games and break hearts all over Chicago.

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MLB Playoff Schedule 2016: TV Times, Live Stream for NL Wild Card, ALDS Games

The 2016 MLB playoffs commenced in grand fashion Tuesday when the Toronto Blue Jays knocked off the Baltimore Orioles in extra innings in the American League Wild Card Game, but there are several more intriguing matchups on tap moving forward.

On Wednesday, it will be decided who advances to the National League Division Series when the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets clash in what promises to be a pitchers’ duel. Also, the AL Division Series is set, with the Blue Jays taking on the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox meeting the Cleveland Indians.

Ahead of the NL Wild Card Game and the start of the ALDS, here is a full rundown of the schedule and a look at where you can view every game.

    

NL Wild Card and ALDS Schedule

    

Giants vs. Mets

Following an AL Wild Card Game between the Jays and Orioles that went down to the wire, expectations are high for Wednesday night’s battle between the Giants and Mets.

The Mets reached the World Series in surprising fashion last season, while the Giants tend to win the World Series every other year, and the calendar suggests they are due in 2016.

While timely hitting will be key, the main matchup to watch is undoubtedly that of Madison Bumgarner and Noah Syndergaard attempting to go pitch for pitch at Citi Field.

Bumgarner and Syndergaard were two of the National League’s best hurlers during the regular season, and hits figure to be difficult to come by with them on the mound.

While Syndergaard had a better ERA this season than Bumgarner (2.60 compared to 2.74), Bumgarner seemingly has the advantage because of his incredible playoff success.

Bumgarner was named the World Series MVP in 2014, and as Mike Puma of the New York Post pointed out, his recent postseason numbers and career numbers at Citi Field are astounding:

At the same time, Bumgarner isn’t in ideal form entering the playoffs, according to Jerry Recco of WFAN:

Neither Bumgarner nor Syndergaard makes many mistakes, so Wednesday’s game figures to come down to which offense is able to take advantage of the few opportunities it receives. 

Syndergaard proved last year that the postseason stage wasn’t too big for him, but Bumgarner has been nearly unhittable in that atmosphere, which is why San Francisco enters the game with a leg up.

    

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

Perhaps no rivalry in baseball has been more intense than that of the Blue Jays and Rangers over the past year, so it was undoubtedly fitting when Toronto dispatched the Orioles in the AL Wild Card Game by virtue of a walk-off home run by Edwin Encarnacion.

That set the stage for an ALDS rematch from last season that saw Toronto outlast Texas in five games. Plenty of bad blood was produced in that series, most notably because of Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista‘s demonstrative bat flip.

The tension carried over to 2016, as Bautista and Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor engaged in a brawl after Bautista slid hard into second base during the regular season.

CBS Sports provided a reminder of the incident on Twitter:

Despite the obvious tension between the two teams, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels doesn’t expect anything out of the ordinary with regard to the upcoming series, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

It’ll be talked about a ton. I think it’ll dominate or at least be one of the top story lines nationally and locally. I think that the fan bases will be loud and the crowd. Beyond that, I don’t expect much.

I think this time of year everybody’s so focused on what they want to do, everybody wants to win so badly. … I don’t think you’re going to see any silly stuff because teams have too much to lose this time of year. I expect our fans will boo their guys and their fans will boo our guys and the game will go on.

Even if the Blue Jays and Rangers players decide to keep it clean, the respective fanbases promise to create raucous environments perfect for postseason baseball.

In terms of entertainment value, the Jays and Rangers figure to offer plenty of bang for the buck because of the hatred between them and the fact that they are among the most explosive offensive teams baseball has to offer.

    

Red Sox vs. Indians

Terry Francona will always have a special place in Red Sox history, as he managed them to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, but the ALDS will see him attempting to stop Boston in its tracks as manager of the Indians.

Francona is in the midst of his fourth season as Cleveland’s manager, and he has the team in the ALDS for the first time as the No. 2 seed in the American League.

While his tenure with the Red Sox didn’t end on ideal terms in 2011, Francona harbors no ill will toward the organization, especially since Red Sox manager John Farrell is his close friend, according to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com: “I’m extremely proud of what John has done this year. And it’s tough to compete against one of your best friends. That’s actually kind of hard, but I’m so proud and happy for him, what he’s accomplished. I kind of consider it an honor to actually compete against him.”

In addition to the storyline of Francona going up against the Sox, the ALDS marks what could be the final postseason series of Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz’s illustrious career.

While Big Papi is 40 years of age, he is coming off a regular season that saw him hit .315 with 38 home runs and 127 RBI. Because of that, Francona joked that he wished Ortiz would step away a bit sooner than planned, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian:

Both the Red Sox and Indians are well-equipped to make a World Series run. Boston boasts the deepest and most dangerous lineup in baseball, while Cleveland has the type of pitching needed for postseason success.

While the Chicago Cubs are the favorites to win it all, the winner of the ALDS between the Sox and Tribe could potentially stake claim to that distinction.

 

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com


MLB Playoffs 2016: Updated Odds, Predictions for NL Wild Card, ALDS Matchups

An exciting start to the 2016 MLB postseason should have fans ready for even more in the coming days.

The Toronto Blue Jays became the first big winner of October when Edwin Encarnacion hit a walk-off home run to seal a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Wild Card Game. It took 11 innings to decide the one-game battle, with plenty of drama on both sides.

Still, the playoffs are just getting started, with a handful of battles likely to go down to the wire. Here is a look at some of the upcoming matchups to watch as the postseason continues.

    

National League Wild Card

San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets

The second winner-take-all game of the week, the NL Wild Card Game is even more heavily anticipated thanks to the pitching matchup.

Noah Syndergaard gets the ball for the New York Mets after an outstanding year in which he ranked in the top five in the NL in ERA (2.60) and strikeouts (218). Of course, San Francisco Giants starter Madison Bumgarner also accomplished that feat with a 2.74 ERA and 251 strikeouts. He also pitched 43 more innings than his upcoming opponent.

While Syndergaard performed well in his first taste of the playoffs last year, he can’t even approach what Bumgarner has done in his career, tallying a 2.14 career postseason ERA in 14 appearances. He already has three World Series titles in his career, winning MVP in 2014.

John Buccigross of ESPN noted how good the southpaw has been on the road:

He also isn’t planning on holding back in the one-game series:

Bumgarner pitched a complete-game shutout in his last start in this round, so the Mets should be afraid.

Relying on lefties in the lineup such as Curtis Granderson, Jay Bruce and James Loney also won’t make it easy for New York to get runs against Bumgarner.

On the other side, Denard Span might have the biggest role on the team as a table-setter on top of the Giants lineup. If he can get on base, he can take advantage of Syndergaard‘s struggles at holding runners, quickly moving into scoring position.

This pitcher’s duel will likely come down to a handful of timely hits for either side, and San Francisco seemingly has a better chance to earn those big plays.

Game Prediction: Giants 2, Mets 1

    

American League Division Series

Boston Red Sox vs. Cleveland Indians

While pitching is the theme in the National League, the American League games will be decided by the hitters. This is bad news for the Cleveland Indians.

The Boston Red Sox had the top offense in baseball this season, averaging 5.4 runs per game while leading the majors with a .282 team batting average and .810 on-base plus slugging percentage.

Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal noted just how dominant the lineup was this season:

The depth has truly been incredible, with David Ortiz, Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Jackie Bradley Jr. and others always being a threat to carry the offense on a given night.

Cleveland had a quality rotation during the season, but injuries to Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar create question marks. Corey Kluber is the only trustworthy option, and even he is coming off a quad injury.

It will be a real challenge for the Indians pitchers to keep the Red Sox from lighting up the scoreboard no matter who is on the mound.

Although Cleveland should feel more confident about its lineup than its pitching heading into the playoffs, even that group has been quiet as of late. With the exception of Carlos Santana, the offense has been quiet in September with just a .249 batting average as a team.

There are still major threats in the lineup, but not enough to frighten opposing pitchers. If Rick Porcello and David Price can get over their past struggles in the postseason, the Red Sox will win this series.

Series Prediction: Red Sox 3, Indians 1

    

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Texas Rangers

The fans from both teams likely wanted this rematch.

Last year’s ALDS got ugly with fights, bat flips and plenty of drama, but the series will be decided by which team plays the best on the field.

We knew there would be a lot of home run threats no matter who won the AL Wild Card Game. Both the Orioles and the Blue Jays are heavily reliant on the long ball, and Toronto showed it by using a home run to pull out the win.

The question is whether the Texas Rangers can keep the ball in the park. Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish are as talented a one-two combo as any pitching staff in baseball, but both have struggled down the stretch. Hamels had a 5.86 ERA in September while allowing five home runs in five starts. Darvish had a 4.40 ERA in the final month thanks mostly to seven earned runs allowed in a start against the Oakland Athletics.

With the Blue Jays’ middle of the order featuring Josh Donaldson, Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, it will be difficult to avoid giving up at least some runs.

Adding in just enough pitching to hold off a strong Rangers offense, Toronto has what it takes to pull off the upset.

This will be an emotional series with a lot of back-and-forth play and a whole bunch of runs, but the Blue Jays are built for a deep run in these playoffs.

Series Prediction: Blue Jays 3, Rangers 2

         

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter.

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NL Wild Card Game 2016: Giants vs. Mets Breakdown and Predictions

When the 2016 MLB season began, few people figured the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants would be here.

Sure, a majority of baseball pundits and fans expected both teams to be playing in October. But most thought they’d be respective division winners readying for the National League Division Series—not participants in the Wild Card Game.

With both teams starting outstanding pitchers in Wednesday’s win-or-go-home game, the matchup can be dissected a multitude of ways, with each suggesting a different outcome. Follow along to determine who you think will win Wednesday’s NL Wild Card Game.

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Complete Offseason Guide, Predictions for the Baltimore Orioles

Sometimes, the baseball gods just don’t smile down upon you.

Baltimore’s season came to a brutal end in extra innings, as Edwin Encarnacion’s three-run blast off Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-2 victory over the Orioles, who are now 2-8 in their last 10 playoff games dating back to 2012.

It was a puzzling move for manager Buck Showalter to not turn to his All-World closer, Zach Britton, who he confirmed in his postgame press conference was indeed available, via Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Perhaps things would have worked out differently for the Orioles if he had.

But Britton and most of his teammates will be back at it again in 2017, though there will certainly be some changes to the roster before Opening Day.

What follows is an overview of some of the decisions that the team will have to make—and some of the players they may look to—in order to bolster the roster for a return trip to the postseason, and perhaps the Fall Classic, in 2017.

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NL Wild Card Game Odds: Mets, Giants Meet in Pick’em Matchup Wednesday

If the San Francisco Giants (87-75) are going to win their fourth World Series title in seven years, they will need to get through the defending National League champions first on Wednesday when they visit the New York Mets (87-75) in the Wild Card Game.

The matchup is listed as a pick’em at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark, with each team hoping its ace can do the job and earn a shot at the Chicago Cubs.

San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner (15-9, 2.74 ERA) was the MVP of the 2014 World Series, but he actually posted the lowest ERA and highest strikeout total (251) of his career this year.

Bumgarner forms a dangerous one-two punch at the top of the rotation with Johnny Cueto, who won the World Series last year with the Kansas City Royals. However, Bumgarner was not as good on the road with a 6-5 mark and 3.39 ERA, although he went 2-0 against the Mets in two starts this season with a 3.27 ERA.

On the other side, New York’s Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60) is also coming off a career year and has the role of staff leader due to injuries to Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz.

How far the Mets would be able to go in the postseason without deGrom and Matz remains to be seen, but Syndergaard has proven he can carry a heavy load. He went 6-6 with a 2.87 ERA at Citi Field this year and 1-1 versus San Francisco in two starts with a 2.63 ERA. The Giants hit only .159 against him in those outings.

The teams split a four-game series in San Francisco between August 18 and 21, with New York winning two of three at home the only other time they met in 2016 between April 29 and May 1. Despite the quality of pitching in this matchup, the total has surprisingly gone over in six of the past seven meetings according to the Odds Shark MLB Database.

In fact, a 6-0 over streak ended on August 21 when Syndergaard blanked the Giants for eight innings in a 2-0 road win for the Mets, allowing just two hits on 98 pitches with two walks and six strikeouts. Both lag behind on the odds to win the World Series, with New York listed at +1800 and San Francisco at +2200.

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MLB Playoffs 2016: Live Stream, TV Schedule for AL, NL Wild Card Bracket

The 2016 MLB playoffs get underway later Tuesday with the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles kicking off the first of two Wild Card games.

The AL East compatriots each clinched their spots without trouble, winning their regular-season finales Sunday to set up the head-to-head. Their series over the 162-game slog could not have been any closer. Toronto earned a 10-9 advantage and the right to host Tuesday night’s game.

“When you get to the point where there’s three or four or five, six teams in the race, it’s like every game is crucial,” Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin said, per Scott Mitchell of the Toronto Sun. “Everybody’s been in that playoff mindset for a while now, so we’ve just gotta keep moving forward.

“It felt like almost the last six or seven days we’ve been playing wild-card games all the way through, so, I think, that we’re ready for the next step. The next step’s a big game and we’re bringing it back to The 6 in front of our home fans. Hopefully, it’s going to be magical for us.”

The Jays appear to have the edge in most categories. They rank ninth in runs scored and sixth in on-base percentage, while Baltimore has perhaps the shakiest rotation of any playoff team. The Orioles have subsisted most of the season on their bullpen holding close games. Only the Rangers have a worse run differential among playoff teams.

Manager Buck Showalter noted he was proud of his team for making the playoffs despite being predicted by some to be the AL East’s worst team.

“Life is too short to have those emotions. Thank goodness people make predictions and think things like that,” Showalter said, per Jon Meoli and Carrie Wells of the Baltimore Sun. “We’ve used them very well. It’s kind of who we are, and the way we have to do it. There’s a real identity not only with our team, but with the city and everything.

“There’s just so much you can do with emotion. You have to have some skills and sometimes that gets overlooked with our guys. These are some talented guys, and they’re talented in their ability to be consistent.”

In a one-game format, though, all the Orioles need to do is crack an early lead and get it to the sixth inning. If they can do that, this unlikely bunch could continue its run despite being at a talent disadvantage and playing on the road.

The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants appear much closer to providing a nail-biting matchup. Both have built their playoff rosters around pitching. The Mets rank third in team ERA, the Giants are fourth. The Mets have 87 quality starts, the Giants 85. San Francisco is a better offensive team and has a 30-run advantage in differential, though, and came away with four straight wins to clinch a wild card spot.

“This is when our team plays best, when we have a sense of urgency, with our backs against the wall,’’ left fielder Angel Pagan said, per Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today. “We’re ready. We have good momentum going into the playoffs. I’ve got a good feeling, man.’’

“As a group, going through the ups and downs, it really is a trial,” reliever Sergio Romo said. “That grittiness, that willingness to fight, we just let it all hang. We wanted this bad. Now we get a chance to dance, and we like our chances.’’

The Mets have scraped together a playoff team despite losing third baseman David Wright and slapping together an everyday lineup that typically borders on abysmal. Their best midseason move on the field was a reunion with former star Jose Reyes, which drew critics following his MLB suspension. 

“With the talent we have, one thing, we never give up,” Reyes said, per Matt Ehalt of USA Today. “All the credit has to go to Terry to keep this team together. After all the injuries, what happened to us, we are still in this situation. This is unbelievable. We never doubted with the talent we had in this locker room.”

Odds are, this will come down to who can get one or two runs across the board first. The Mets will rely on ace Noah Syndergaard, who was 1-1 against the Giants during the regular season. He shut them out over eight innings in San Francisco during an August trip. Giants starter Madison Bumgarner won both of his starts against the Mets during the regular season.

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NL Wild Card Game 2016: Giants vs. Mets Date, Time, TV Info, Live Stream

The Major League Baseball postseason is something that’s supposed to build to a crescendo, with the most memorable note being sounded in the seventh game of the World Series.

The National League Wild Card Game is anything but a warm-up or an appetizer. It is a full-fledged marquee matchup between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, featuring two of the best pitchers in the league: Madison Bumgarner vs. Noah Syndergaard.

Bumgarner has a magnificent postseason legacy, having been the Most Valuable Player in the Giants’ 2014 World Series run. He has a 5-1 record in his last eight postseason games with a 0.91 ERA. Bumgarner was 15-9 with a 2.74 ERA during the 2016 regular season.

Syndergaard won Game 3 of the 2015 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, and that was the only game the Mets won in last year’s Fall Classic. He had a 2-1 record in last year’s postseason with a 3.32 ERA.

Syndergaard was 14-9 in 2016 with a 2.60 ERA while striking out 218 batters and walking 43.

The two teams will play Wednesday night at Citi Field in New York, and the game will be televised by ESPN. The game will be live-streamed at WatchESPN, but it will not be available at MLB.tv.

Bumgarner has also been at his best when pitching at Citi Field. He has a 4-0 record and an impressive 0.62 ERA.

Mets manager Terry Collins knows his team has a tough assignment, but the Mets beat Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year’s National League Division Series and have come through under difficult circumstances

“It’s the big leagues and you are going to face great pitching in the postseason,” Collins told Mike Puma of the New York Post. “I know [the Giants] are in their clubhouse and saying, ‘Wow, we’ve got to face Syndergaard,’ so it should be a great game.”

The Mets are going to have to find out a way to scratch out a run or two against Bumgarner and hope that Syndergaard is on top of his game.

They showed quite a bit of power this season and are led by outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who had 31 home runs and 86 RBI this year. Additionally, Curtis Granderson belted 30 homers, while Asdrubal Cabrera added 23 long balls. Jay Bruce hit 33 home runs in 2016, but 25 of those home runs were hit with the Cincinnati Reds before he was acquired by the Mets in a trade.

Neil Walker also hit 23 home runs, but he underwent season-ending lumbar surgery in September.

The Giants do not hit the long ball. Brandon Belt led the team with 17 home runs, and that was the lowest figure to lead any team in either the American or National League.

Third baseman Eduardo Nunez hit 16 home runs and drove in 67 runs on the season, while former postseason hero Buster Posey suffered a power downturn as he hit just 14 home runs while driving in 80.

While the Giants struggled badly in the second half of the season, they have a history of excelling in the postseason. They won the World Series in 2010, 2012 as well as 2014, and manager Bruce Bochy has shown that he knows how to get the most out of his team when it matters most.

If the Giants are going to survive and advance this year, they will need their ace to outduel the Mets’ best pitcher in a game that could be remembered as a postseason classic.

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AL Wild Card Game 2016: Orioles vs. Blue Jays Breakdown and Predictions

This season, the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles couldn’t have played each other closer.

In 19 games, Toronto won 10 and Baltimore nine.

Each team protected its home-field advantage. The Orioles went 5-4 at Camden Yards, while the Blue Jays were 6-4 at Rogers Centre. MLB couldn’t have hand-picked two better teams to pit against one another in the American League Wild Card Game.

Follow along as we break down one of baseball’s most hotly contested division rivalries.

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AL Wild Card Game Odds: Blue Jays Betting Favorites vs. Orioles in Toronto

Two familiar foes will square off Tuesday in the American League Wild Card Game, when the Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles as -150 home favorites (bet $150 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The teams just played each other last week at the Rogers Centre, with Baltimore winning two of three but losing 10 of 19 meetings overall this year to surrender home-field advantage.

The Blue Jays will send Marcus Stroman (9-10, 4.37 ERA) to the mound as the starting pitcher on Tuesday, even though he struggled versus the Orioles during the regular season. Stroman went 1-2 in four starts against Baltimore with a 7.04 ERA, and he went 4-3 in 16 home starts with a 4.59 ERA.

Toronto has lost five of its last six games with Stroman on the hill overall, as he has failed to earn a win since beating the Houston Astros at home back on August 14.

Opposing Stroman for the Orioles will be Chris Tillman (16-6, 3.77), who is just 2-6 with a 7.01 ERA in his career when pitching at the Rogers Centre. Tillman walked away with a no-decision there last time out against the Blue Jays on Wednesday after allowing one earned run and six hits in 5.2 innings of an eventual 3-2 victory.

Tillman has gone 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA in four starts versus Toronto this season and owns an 8-3 mark and 2.97 ERA in 14 outings away from home overall.

While many bettors might expect to see a high-scoring affair between the two AL East teams, their recent series history has shown quite the opposite results. The under has cashed in each of the past seven meetings, four of which were played in Toronto.

Before that, though, six of the previous seven games finished over the total, with four of those also played at the Rogers Centre.

However, the last four starts for both Tillman and Stroman have also gone under, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database. In fact, 11 of Tillman’s previous 13 outings have all dipped below the total, 10 of which have seen eight runs or less scored.

The Blue Jays are listed at +1000 on the odds to win the World Series heading into Tuesday’s game, with the Orioles sitting at +2200. Toronto has a 56.9 percent chance of winning Tuesday’s game, according to website PredictionMachine.com.

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