Last Updated on October 4, 2016 2:05 pm by Brad Burns
Erratic hurler kicks off MLB postseason
Thanks to last year’s ALCS run, Toronto righty Marcus Stroman has no shortage of big-game experience. Which makes his struggles throughout 2016 all the more puzzling.
The Duke product could render the entirety of those regular-season hiccups moot, though, with a strong showing tonight. His Blue Jays (89-73) take on the Orioles in the American League wild-card contest. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives John Gibbons’ crew odds of -143 to prevail at home, while Baltimore enters Rogers Centre as a +133 underdog. The over/under run figure rests at 8.5.
These two division rivals butted heads on 19 occasions over the preceding six months, with Toronto claiming 10 of the battles. Just a week ago, however, the O’s tagged Stroman (9-10, 4.37 ERA) for four runs on nine hits in seven-plus innings. The New York native went 0-5 with a 1.27 WHIP in six September starts.
Chris Tillman (16-7, 3.77) didn’t exactly enjoy a cakewalk to the finish line, either. Working his way back from right shoulder bursitis, Buck Showalter’s No. 1 pitcher owns a 2-4 record with a 5.45 ERA in his past nine appearances. He’ll face the Blue Jays for the fifth time this year, having already posted a pair of quality outings in the Great White North.
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In Stroman’s defense, he received incredibly poor offensive support down the stretch. Toronto, in fact, averaged an AL-worst 3.69 runs per tilt in September. Such a feast-or-famine approach prevents us from placing our faith in the host squad here. Expect the Orioles (89-73) to move on to Texas.
TUESDAY MLB FREE PICK: ORIOLES/BLUE JAYS UNDER 8.5 RUNS