The Baltimore Orioles head to Canada on Monday, August 30, 2021, to open a three-game series at Rogers Centre in Toronto, so here’s the best O’s vs. Blue Jays betting pick. These two AL East foes meet for the tenth time this season, and the Jays have won six of their previous nine contests against the Orioles. 

Toronto is a massive fave to win Monday’s opener, according to BetOnline Sportsbook. The Blue Jays are still alive in the playoff race, while the Orioles have nothing to play for. 

The O’s hope to stop their road slide  

The Baltimore Orioles are winless in nine straight outings away from home. They’ve just finished a nine-game homestand, going 2-7 in the process, and the O’s have won only two of their previous 24 games overall.

Over the last couple of weeks, the Orioles have registered the highest ERA in the majors (6.47) to go with a 1.47 WHIP and a .270 batting average. Their bullpen has recorded a 5.97 ERA and 5.50 FIP in that span, allowing 1.73 home runs per nine innings.

Chris Ellis will toe the slab Monday in Toronto, and the 28-year-old right-hander has tossed just seven frames in two outings so far this season. The Orioles acquired him from Tampa Bay last week, giving Ellis his first major-league start on August 25. The righty yielded three earned runs on five hits across three innings of work and got a no-decision in a 10-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

The Jays have to wake up   

The Toronto Blue Jays improved to 67-61 on the season following a 3-2 win at Detroit this past Saturday. They were looking to beat the Tigers in a three-game series and had a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth of Sunday’s closer at Comerica Park in Detroit.

The Blue Jays were six and a half games behind the bottom wild card on Sunday. Their offense has struggled mightily in the last couple of weeks, posting a .247/.311/.401 batting line and scoring just 46 runs through 13 outings in that stretch.

Robbie Ray will take the hill Monday against the Orioles, and he’s 9-5 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 25 starts this season. The 29-year-old southpaw has been terrific over his previous six starts, posting a sparkly 1.58 ERA and a 50/10 K/BB ratio across 40 innings of work.

Trends:

Baltimore:

  • 2-22 in the last 24 games overall
  • 0-9 in the last nine games on the road 

Toronto:

  • 6-3 in the last nine games against Baltimore

Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays Pick

Robbie Ray met the O’s once in 2020 and was charged for a loss. He yielded a couple of runs in 4.1 frames of work (106 pitches), and the Jays lost 7-1 at Camden Yards. This time, Ray will look to dominate the Orioles at home, though Baltimore has recorded a decent .253/.311/.436 triple-slash in the last two weeks of action.

Anyway, the Orioles pitching staff is a mess, so I’m expecting the Blue Jays to finally find their groove at the plate. Toronto’s offense is way too good to extend its woeful run against this Baltimore team. The Orioles have allowed a whopping 70 runs over their last eight showings on the road.

Pick: Take Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 at -145 

The Total:

Betting on the over is a logical choice despite the Jays’ recent offensive woes. The Orioles’ pitching is a disaster, but the visitors will look to score a few runs off Robbie Ray. Also, the Blue Jays bullpen has been a huge disappointment over the previous two weeks, tallying a 5.04 ERA and 4.71 FIP.

Six of the last eight meetings between the O’s and Jays produced runs in double digits and went in the over.

Pick: Go over 9.5 runs at -102