The Toronto Blue Jays head to Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore this Friday night to open a three-game series against the O’s, as these two American League East foes meet each other for the first time in 2021.
Last year, the Blue Jays beat the Orioles in eight of their ten regular-season contests while sweeping Baltimore in a three-game set at Camden Yards. Toronto is a firm fave to win the opener of this series, so let’s see what the best Blue Jays vs. Orioles betting pick along with the latest odds update on DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Blue Jays need to get back on the winning track as soon as possible
The Toronto Blue Jays were 33-33 on Thursday, looking to avoid a sweep in a three-game home series against the New York Yankees. They haven’t been at their best lately, dropping seven of their previous ten contests overall, so the Blue Jays were huge 8.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays last night.
Toronto owns the sixth-highest scoring offense in the majors, tallying 4.98 runs per game. However, the Blue Jays have recorded a 4.49 ERA over the last two weeks, and their pitching woes are the main reason why Toronto has suffered so many losses recently.
Robbie Ray will take the mound Friday, and the 29-year-old southpaw is enjoying a nice season. He’s 4-2 in 12 starts, sporting a 3.45 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 92/17 K/BB ratio across 70.1 innings of work. Ray has yielded only five earned runs through his previous three starts while striking out 32 in the process. The lefty is 1-1 with a 6.52 ERA in a couple of career starts against the O’s.
The Orioles are riding an eight-game losing streak
The Baltimore Orioles are coming off a heavy 10-3 defeat at the Cleveland Indians on Thursday afternoon, extending their losing streak to eight games and falling to 22-46 on the season. The O’s are the worst team in the AL East by far and own the worst record in the American League at this point.
Baltimore is scoring 4.03 runs per game (21st in the majors) while surrendering 5.15 in a return (26th). The Orioles’ pitching staff is sporting the second-highest ERA in baseball (5.13), though their bullpen is 21st in the MLB with a 4.51 ERA.
Bruce Zimmermann will get the starting nod Friday, and the 26-year-old left-hander is 4-4 with a 4.83 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and 53/20 K/BB ratio across 59.2 frames of work this season. Zimmermann has emerged victorious in two of his last three starts, allowing seven earned runs in the process. He’s never met the Blue Jays before.
Trends:
Toronto:
- 13-3 in the last 16 games against Baltimore
Baltimore:
- 0-8 in the last eight games overall
- 0-6 in the last six home games against Toronto
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles Pick:
The Blue Jays shouldn’t have too many problems extending their dominance over Baltimore, though the Orioles have been excellent against the lefties so far this season, posting a .279/.333/.457 slash line. Anyway, even if Robbie Ray starts to struggle, the Blue Jays should have enough offensive firepower to escape with a win.
Toronto is slashing .258/.324/.428 against the southpaws. The Blue Jays possess one of the most potent lineups in baseball with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. onwards, so I’m looking for Toronto’s offense to make the difference and torture the O’s hapless pitching staff.
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles Total Pick
Despite that tricky line at 9.5 runs, I’m going with the over on the totals, expecting both teams to hit well and hard. As I’ve mentioned, the O’s are a tough matchup for the lefties, so Robbie Ray might have a tall task even though he’s pitched in a good form lately.
On the other side, the Blue Jays could easily score six or more runs on their own. Oriole Park is a hitter-friendly ballpark, and the over is 4-1-1 in the last six encounters between the Blue Jays and O’s in Baltimore.