Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles – 8/30/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction
2020-08-30 15:07:00 EDT
The Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays meet Sunday in MLB action from Sahlen Field.
This will be the third matchup in a four-game weekend set between these teams. The Blue Jays got the first win Friday with a 5-4 result. On Saturday, the Blue Jays went up in the series 2-0 with a 5-0 shutout victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
Baltimore couldn’t get anything going offensively on Saturday in the shutout loss, posting just five hits to Toronto’s nine. Jose Iglesias and Anthony Santander combined for four of those hits, and starting pitcher Alex Cobb had a bad outing on 4.0 innings, eight hits, four earned runs and two Ks.
For the Sunday starting pitcher role, the Orioles are going with Jorge Lopez. This season in four starts without a decision, Lopez has an 8.38 ERA with eight strikeouts in 9.2 innings. In his MLB career, Lopez is 7-15 with a 6.02 ERA and 165 Ks in 199.0 innings total.
Over on the Blue Jays’ side, starting pitcher Taijuan Walker managed a win Saturday with 6.0 innings, four hits, no earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts. Vladimir Guerrero posted two hits there with two RBI and a run.
In the starting role on Sunday, Toronto is sending out RHP Tanner Roark. Over his five starts this season, Roark is 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 22.0 innings total. Across his MLB career, Roark is 76-65 with a 3.73 ERA and 907 Ks in 1122.1 innings of work.
The Orioles are 4-1 in their last five Sunday games and 108-226 in their last 334 games on grass. Baltimore is 34-72 in their last 106 during game three of a series and 119-260 in their last 379 overall.
Meanwhile, Toronto is 7-2 in the last nine games following a win and 5-2 in their last seven games as a favorite. The Blue Jays are 4-1 in their last five overall and 5-1 in their last six versus a right-handed starter.
Pick: I’m leaning Blue Jays here. There’s a little concern with Roark so far, specifically his walk rate. He’s given up 13 free passes over 22 innings so far but should even out soon. The 1.73 WHIP this season is a tick higher than Roark’s usual 1.25 career rate. In any case, the last time Roark faced the Orioles he posted five innings with one run on nine hits. I think he’ll do well here and put Toronto in position for a win.
