Toronto Blue Jays (61-52) vs Baltimore Orioles (59-55)
Monday, August 15, 2022 at 7:07 pm
A.L. East Total of the Year. My selection is on the 'over' between Baltimore and Toronto at 7:05 pm et on Monday.
Both of these teams are coming off a lopsided defeats on Sunday. I look for both offenses to respond with favorable results on Monday, leading to a high-scoring affair in Toronto.
While the Orioles stable of young arms has performed well this season, tonight's starter, Kyle Bradish, has struggled. He checks in sporting a 5.16 FIP and 1.62 WHIP while allowing just shy of 6.6 runs per nine innings. We're not talking about a small sample size either as he has logged more than 60 big league innings this season. To make matters worse, the Blue Jays will be seeing him for the third time this season and the second time in less than a week. They've fared well against him, scoring eight earned runs on 14 hits over 10 1/3 innings previously.
While the O's bullpen has been solid for much of the season, it took a hit due to pre-trade deadline dealing and entered yesterday's action with a 4.32 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over the last seven games.
The Yusei Kikuchi experiment hasn't worked out in Toronto this season. He's struggled since joining the club from Seattle, recording a 5.87 FIP and 1.49 WHIP here in 2022. Opponents have reached the left-hander for north of 5.8 runs per nine innings. Note that the O's have been slightly better offensively against left-handed starters this season, averaging 4.4 runs per game compared to their season scoring average of 4.3 rpg. They've tagged Kikuchi for nine earned runs in nine innings in two previous looks at him this season.
Meanwhile, the Jays 'pen has been overworked, entering yesterday's contest having logged 28 innings over the last seven games, sporting a collective 3.54 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over that stretch. Take the over (10*).
Sean’s Pick Over: 9 -115
AUTHOR: Sean Murphy
