Toronto Blue Jays @ Baltimore Orioles (Rzepcynski @ Matusz)
It is no coincidence that Orioles 2nd baseman Brian Roberts finally returned to spark their lineup, and the new management (Showalter) has lit a fire under this club, thus they are playing insanely well at the moment. Showalter seems to have implemented an A+ strategy in regards to the Orioles rotation, which has been stretched from 5 to 6 starters. There's 1 workhorse in that rotation, Jeremy Guthrie who can do the regular 4 day rest week in and week out and consistently pitch strong. Millwood's a 13 year veteran who has improved in volumes since the extra day rest, and the 4 rookies (Bergesen, Matusz, Arrieta and Tillman) would also likely benefit. The bullpen has clamped down as well, preserving the leads they obtained in the early innings. The Orioles (55-88) are 23-16 since the beginning of August-which is around the time the Showalter regiment took over. The Blue Jays have owned the Orioles (12-0) this season, but a season sweep in my eyes is unlikely-I am targeting tonight's game for the streak snap. Interestingly enough, the Blue Jays lead the majors with 223 home runs, but only 35 of those coming against left handed pitching...they also hit a dismal .215 against lefties. The setback here is that in the past, Toronto hitters have had enormous success against today's Orioles starter Brian Matusz, a left hander, twice in 2 starts where they didn't just get to him, they rocked him. The Blue Jays hitters who have faced him have a consensus .500 batting average vs. Matusz. The surprise here is that Matusz is a high 1st round pick from 2 years back and has shown flashes of brilliance in his starts, notably in his recent ones-however the Blue Jays have his #, as of now. Everything is clicking for the Orioles at the moment, while Toronto is sputtering. They also don't send out much quality to the mound tonight with Rzepcynski, a struggling starter that the new-look Orioles have potential to feast on. This is a bad spot for the Jays...u could call it a revenge killing after losing the 1st 12.
Baltimore Orioles (-120)
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***I expect that the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets game will be within a possession. I will not predict an outright winner, but on a buy down:
Baltimore Ravens (+7) @ (-270)
