Henry Roldán
The American League postseason began with a bang, and this Saturday, the Mariners vs Blue Jays square off in the second game of one of the young circuit’s wild card series. With a masterful pitching performance by Dominican Luis Castillo, the Seattle team pulled off one of the surprises of the first day by blanking Toronto’s powerful offense 4-0.
Without further ado, at JefeBet we leave you the best preview of this important match between the Seattle Mariners vs Toronto Blue Jays.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the Seattle Mariners vs Toronto Blue Jays MLB Wild Card Game 2 on October 8, 2022
- Where: Rogers Centre – Toronto, Ontario.
- When: Saturday, October 8, 2022, 4:07 PM E.T.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM.
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Betting on the Seattle Mariners
- Season record: 90-72 (2nd wild card).
- Regular round vs Cardinals: 5-2.
- Wild Card Series LA: 1-0.
- Runline: (+1.5, -175).
- Moneyline: (+125).
- Over/Under: 7.
The Mariners keep surprising fans this season: this time, they delivered the first blow in the American League Wild Card series by blanking the mighty Blue Jays.
Dominican Luis Castillo stole the show on the mound, dominating what many consider to be the best offense in the Major Leagues. With 108 pitches, 78 of them strikes, the right-hander gave up only six hits, gave no BBs and struck out five opponent players.
On the offensive side, the Mariners took advantage in the same first episode with an ambush on Alek Manoah. Eugenio Suarez brought the first run to the plate and Cal Raleigh would nail down the final blow with a two-run homer to back up Castillo’s work.
Meanwhile, Robbie Ray, a right-hander who arrived in free agency after winning the American Cy Young Award with Toronto last year, will take the mound for the Seattle team this Saturday in an attempt to seal their qualification to the Division Series. Ray pitched six one-run ball innings in his only start against the Blue Jays this season, but he struggled on the road, allowing a 4.69 EFE in 78.2 innings.
Starting pitcher: Robbie Ray (12-12, 3.71 EFE).
Injured playets: Dylan Moore (unknown/likely), Jesse Winker (neck injury), Sam Haggerty (groin injury).
Betting on the Toronto Blue Jays
- Season record: 92-70 (1st wild card).
- Regular round vs Cardinals: 2-5.
- Wild Card LA Series: 0-1.
- Runline: (-1.5, +145).
- Moneyline: (-149).
- Over/Under: 7.
After failing to make an impact on the Mariners’ pitching so far, the Blue Jays will have a few hours to turn the page on a very difficult matchup.
In the regular round, Toronto lost five of seven games to Seattle, and in only two of them did they score more than three runs. This is not a very encouraging statistic, considering that they were blanked in the first game, a situation they only experienced eight times in 2022.
Alek Manoah was quickly attacked by the Mariners’ offense, which was certainly a blow to a Toronto team that left seven men on base and went 3-0 with men in scoring position.
Now, the Blue Jays will have to put all their faith in the arm of Kevin Gausman, who in his first season with the team was the second-best starter in John Schneider’s rotation. However, at home the right-hander didn’t have a good performance, giving up 4.57 ERA in 80.2 innings of work. Against Seattle, he played for five innings, in which he gave up two runs and took the loss.
Starting pitcher: Kevin Gausman (12-10, 3.35 EFE).
Injured: Santiago Espinal (oblique muscle injury), Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (hamstring injury).
JefeBet Prediction
While the Mariners dominated the Blue Jays’ offense all season, Robbie Ray did not perform well away from T-Mobile Park. This is something they must capitalize on this Saturday if they want to win.
Gausman, for his part, did not finish the season well, and he was batted out in the majority of his appearances at the Rogers Centre.
Prediction: Over (SEA 5 – TOR 4).
