Orioles-Blue Jays AL Wild Card preview and prediction

Both clubs come out of the same division and there is a rivalry building between the Orioles and Blue Jays who will face off in a single-game elimination on Thursday.

There is no love lost between the Orioles and the Blue Jays, and this Wild Card game could be as intense as they come. Baltimore and Toronto have never met in the postseason, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a history between the two clubs.

The O’s Manny Machado and Jays’ Josh Donaldson dislike for each other goes back to 2014, when Donaldson was with the Athletics, and something could possibly break out in a pressure packed contest like a one-game elimination. Because of the magnitude of this meeting, both could hold their tempers in check, but one never knows what a minor incident could turn into.

The feud aside, both teams finished with the same record, 89-73, four games behind the division champion Red Sox. Toronto had to get in doing it the hard way by beating Boston in nail-biting fashion 2-1 on the final day. And it wasn’t easy getting to game 162 either.

The Jays were thought to be the class of the East but a late season slump allowed the BoSox to pass them. They needed to win the final two games in order to make the playoffs for the second straight year, but there were two other teams fighting for just two spots, the O’s and Tigers. One loss could have scuttled their season and they were up for the task, taking both.

With a possible three way tie looming, the Tigers were faced with one of the worst case scenarios any major league club would ever go through. If it happened, the path to the ALDS would have had them playing four games in four days in four different stadiums. Detroit was a club many believe would be a shoe-in for one of the Wild Card spots after the Indians ran away with the Central Division, but it wasn’t to be.

The Orioles will be heading to their third postseason in five years despite the dire predictions in spring that had them finishing fifth. Their 89 wins proved a lot of people wrong, and they now have one more game to stick it to those pundits. The biggest problem in the biggest game of the season is who they send to the mound.

Baltimore does not have a stud to run out there to help them advance to the divisional round. It is quite possible they will lean on Chris Tillman (16-6, 3.77 ERA) or Ubaldo Jimenez (8-12, 5.44 ERA), however, whoever gets the nod, they will have the confidence of knowing that if they give up three runs, the offense will score four. The Orioles can club you to death. They are 253 homers deep, led by thumpers Mark Trumbo (47 HRs), Chris Davis (38) and Machado (37), though they aren’t playing in the friendly confines of Camden Yards.

Toronto will counter with either Marcus Stroman (9-10, 4.37) or LH Francisco Liriano (8-13, 4.69) and while their numbers won’t strike fear into the hearts of their counterparts, they will take the mound knowing the Jays went 13-16 down the stretch scoring just 3.69 runs a game, the worst mark in the AL in September and October. In other words, they will need to be on their game or the season ends with a whimper.

The biggest difference between the two clubs is who is hot and who is not. Just because Toronto has the home field doesn’t mean they have an advantage. This is the first time the Blue Jays have played in a Wild Card win or go home game and the pressure will be enormous.

PREDICTION: Toronto cannot compete with the awesome power that will be on display Thursday as Baltimore puts this game away early.