Prizing:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

2nd-10th Place: $10 Starbucks gift card

Overview:

On Wednesday, September 21st, the (81-68) Toronto Blue Jays will be on the road to take on the (79-70) Seattle Mariners.  Seattle is (8-2) in their last ten games while the Toronto is (4-6).

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Blue Jays 4.8 – Mariners 3.8 with an over/under of 8.6.  The Mariners are (41-33) at home this season whereas the Blue Jays are (39-36) on the road.

Starting Pitchers: 

TOR- Aaron Sanchez (13-2, 3.17) vs SEA- Felix Hernandez (11-6, 3.79)

Batting Stats:

Runs Scored: Blue Jays 708 (tied for 7^th) = Mariners 708 (tied for 7^th)

Batting Average: Mariners .260 (10^th) > Blue Jays .248 (24^th)

On Base Percentage: Mariners.327 (tied for 8^th) = Blue Jays .327 (tied for 8^th)

Total Bases: Mariners 2211 (9^th) > Blue Jays 2172 (11^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Mariners 47 (25^th) > Blue Jays 46 (26^th)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Blue Jays 3.91 (7^th) > Mariners 4.06 (11^th)

Batting Average Against: Blue Jays .245 (6^th) > Mariners .253 (11^th)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Blue Jays 1.25 (6^th) > Mariners 1.29 (11^th)

Strikeouts: Blue Jays 1202 (13^th) > Mariners 1197 (14^th)

Saves: Mariners 46 (7^th) > Blue Jays 40 (14^th)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Blue Jays 81 (11^th) > Mariners 84 (14^th)

Summary:

Seattle has a (2-1) series advantage and have outscored Toronto 16-8 in those three games.  Mariners starter Felix Hernandez has held Blue Jays hitters to a combined .177 average against so he should have a major advantage in this match-up.  Hernandez is only (5-3) at home this year but throughout his career has pitched very well at Safeco Field.  Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez has held Mariners hitters to a combined .333 average against albeit in a very small sample size.  This is a great pitching match-up and should be a low scoring game.  I like the Mariners to win this one at home with King Felix on the hill.

**LISTEN HERE** to the latest edition of “The Berger Shop” podcast, sponsored by The Crowd’s Line.  This week’s features an in depth discussion about sports, social media and business with ESPN’s Darren Rovell.

Note:

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