AL Wildcard: Blue Jays vs Orioles
The Toronto Blue Jays will host the Baltimore Orioles tonight at the Rogers Centre in the AL wildcard game. Its due or die for both teams, in this one game playoff. Both teams finished with a record of 89-73. The winner of this huge game will move on to play against the AL west winners the Texas Rangers. The game is set for an 8:08PM start in Toronto. Both teams clinched on Sunday night.
The two teams have decided on their starters for the game tonight. Right hander Marcus Stroman(9-10) will take the mound for the Blue Jays tonight against Orioles right hander Chris Tillman(16-6). The Blue Jays surprisingly elected to go with Stroman over lefty Francisco Liriano, as they expect the same intensity Stroman had in last years game five against the Texas Rangers. For the Orioles however, Tillman was an easy decision after this past season. The right hander finished the year with 16 wins and an ERA of 3.77. Stroman finished the season with a losing record and an ERA of 4.37, however the 25 year old Jays ace feels motivated and confident that tonight will not be the end of the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have both Liriano and Estrada in the bullpen tonight, in case of an early struggle from Stroman. The Orioles have Ubaldo Jimenez in the bullpen in case Tillman needs to be relieved.
The Blue Jays look toward their veteran bats for leadership, as they hope their offensive game breaks out tonight. Bautista, Encarnacion, Donaldson, and Tulowitzki will all be heavily depended on tonight. For the Orioles, Chris Davis, Adam Jones, and Manny Machado will be the biggest threat in tonight's game. Chris Davis had 38 HR and 84RBI's this past season, however he has one of the top three highest slugging percentages at the Rogers Centre. The division rivals will battle it out tonight, and the pitchers duel will be the biggest factor in who will advance to play Texas. First pitch is at 8:08PM.
