Orioles vs. Blue Jays MLB Odds, Prediction: Max Scherzer Pitching for the Playoffs
A crucial series for the Blue Jays starts Friday night against another AL East team battling for a Wild-Card spot as they welcome Chris Bassitt and the Baltimore Orioles, who are done for if swept. Toronto is a -135 favourite on the MLB odds with a total of 8.5 runs.
MLB Betting Odds and Trends
Will Toronto return to the postseason? This six-game homestand probably tells us with three against Baltimore and then three vs. Detroit ahead of the season’s final road trip. The Orioles need a minor miracle to earn that last spot, but they do get to host the Blue Jays for three games to open next week. So as long as the O’s aren’t swept this weekend, they should remain in the race.
Could be that neither team makes the playoffs with Cleveland of the AL Central and Texas of the AL West (if it doesn’t win that division) also right there. As of today, the Blue Jays are the +165 favourites for that No. 6 seed despite sitting a game behind the Guardians because the Jays win that tiebreaker. Needless to say, winning this season series would also be a great tiebreaker to have and currently Toronto leads Baltimore 4-3, including 2-1 at Rogers Centre.
Ernie Clement is hitting .321 in the series with two doubles, a triple, homer and five RBIs. Brandon Valenzuela is 6-for-19 with three doubles, two homers and five RBIs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is only at .222 but has three homers and eight RBIs. Meanwhile, the Orioles’ Colton Cowser really hit Blue Jays pitching hard at 9-for-21 with three homers, a triple, seven RBIs and five runs scored.
Baltimore Orioles
For a while there, it looked like the O’s had figured things out and slugger Pete Alonso was crushing the ball. On Aug. 31 after a win in Denver, the Orioles were 69-69 and right in the Wild-Card race. The club is 2-7 since, although it did take two of three at home this week against Cleveland to help themselves and the Blue Jays. Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who is having a bit of a down season at .219 with 22 homers and 57 RBIs, missed Wednesday’s finale vs. the Guardians with a minor injury but should be in there Friday. Third baseman Blaze Alexander (.303) landed on the injured list ahead of Wednesday’s game.
Former Blue Jays righty Chris Bassitt (6-5, 4.96 ERA) takes the mound Friday. The 37-year-old was signed to a one-year, $18.5 million (US) deal back in February following three quite successful seasons with Toronto. Bassitt loved his time there so this will be an emotional start for him, and he will surely be honoured in some form ahead of that. Bassitt faced the Jays in Baltimore on May 28 and allowed one run and four hits over six in a no-decision. George Springer has seen him more than any Toronto player career and is 8-for-23 with two homers and a double.
Toronto Blue Jays
In my opinion, nothing short of 4-2 on this six-game homestand is acceptable for Toronto. Things were looking so promising playoff-wise following last Saturday’s win in Kansas City, but then the Jays dropped three of their next four. No excuse losing two of three in Sacramento to open this week against an Athletics team that mailed it in weeks ago. One thing we want to address here as the team returns home: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. still has not homered at Rogers Centre this season. The power is just not there in 2026, and he has gone yard only once since Aug. 9.
Friday will mark one of the last few regular-season starts in the brilliant career of Max Scherzer, a lock first-ballot Hall of Famer. Scherzer (2-7, 6.03 ERA) has been significantly better in his past three starts overall, allowing three earned or fewer in each. The right-hander hasn’t seen the Orioles this year. Pete Alonso has seen him the most of any Baltimore batter and is 2-for-20 with four strikeouts.
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