Both the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays come into this three-game series having been swept in their most recent series and having lost four straight games.
Sometimes life works out just as you expect it to. Such is the case with the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles this season.
The Jays and O’s were expected to be at the bottom of the AL East, and they are. Toronto (66-83) is fourth, 28.5 games behind the front-running Yankees. After getting off to a very hot start to the campaign that saw the Blue Jays 27-14 on May 18 and leading the division, Toronto has gone 39-69.
Baltimore (60-89) had no fast start to at least look back on with fondness. But with six games remaining against the Blue Jays, including this three-game set, the Orioles could still put up a fight to avoid the cellar in the division.
Toronto was in Tampa over the weekend where they were swept. Baltimore was at home where they were swept by the Red Sox. This series starts a 10-game road trip for the Orioles before they finish their season off home at Camden against the Blue Jays.
The two teams are level on the season against one another at 6-6, each going 5-1 on their home fields. The Orioles have won just four of their last 15 they've played at Rogers Centre. And given the pitchers they will be sending to the mound in this set, there’s no reason to expect different results this time. In fact, there’s nothing exciting at all about the starting pitching matchups the next three days in Toronto.
Game 1: Baltimore righthander Chris Tillman worked 6.2 IP and allowed two earned in a 3-2 loss at Toronto on Aug 8. Blue Jays lefty David Purcey will be making his seventh start of this season with Toronto 2-1 in his previous three at home.
Game 2: Big old southpaw Mark Hendrickson will make his ninth start of the season to go with the 42 relief outings he's had for Baltimore. Most of his starting assignments came in April and May for the O's, and only one of them went past 5 innings. Brian Tallet goes for Toronto to make this a double-lefty contest. He faced the Orioles in Baltimore on May 25 (6 IP. 2 ER) in a 4-1 Toronto defeat.
Game 3: Jeremy Guthrie takes the mound for the O's against Scott Richmond for the Jays in a rematch of a meeting on May 3 here at the Rogers Centre. Richmond and Toronto came out on top in that one by a 4-3 count.
Tonight’s series opener has Purcey and the Jays drawing -130 chalk with the total set at nine runs. I like the Blue Jays at -150 in the series and the Under 9 on Monday evening.
WEATHER With a 60% chance of thunderstorms in the Toronto area on Monday, I'm expecting the roof at the Rogers Centre to be closed at least for the series opener. Tuesday and Wednesday forecasts are presently listing a 40% chance of the wet stuff. If it's dry enough to pop the top on the building, look for first-pitch temperatures in the low-to-mid 60s all three games.
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Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles meet North of the Border
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