Ah, the age-old clash between north and south, or more specifically, the Toronto Blue Jays and the St. Louis Cardinals. Let's put the bird play on the back burner and focus on the game in hand, shall we?
They're butting heads at the Rogers Centre in the great white North, a venue that's not overly friendly to batters, much to the dismay of the home run enthusiasts among us. Talk about stacked odds.
The Blue Jays are sending out Jose Berrios to the controversial ‘bump’. His season stats reflect a lower ERA and WHIP compared to the Cardinals' Kyle Gibson. Good numbers, but not eye-popping. Gibson, on the other hand, has a solid strikeout per nine innings ratio, although I must say I wouldn't have him as my first draft pick.
Now, what’s a baseball match without the folks making the swings? The Cardinals have had some strong performances from, well, Paul Goldschmidt and Lars Nootbaar this season. Couple of heavy hitters there. But brace yourselves, because the Blue Jays ain’t no wet blanket. Sitting at the top of their roster we have the mighty Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Spencer Horwitz. Their home run stats are electrifying, enough to shock any pitcher into a cold sweat.
Going back a bit to their prior meetups, no clear cut winner emerges from the fog. It's a back-and-forth game they're running. The Cardinals squeaked out a handy victory last year, but the Blue Jays knocked them off their perch in the most recent one.
This season has been more of a seesaw for both teams. The Cardinals swoop down when you least expect it, staying a wing ahead of the Blue Jays who are fluttering just below .500. However, remember last season was eons ago, and recent results show the Blue Jays have displayed a more consistent performance.
Ah, the sweet sport of unpredictability. It's never a straightforward pick in baseball, and if it were, we wouldn't have much to chat about now, would we? But as much as I'd love to play it safe and carpet bomb a tie prediction, it feels like the Blue Jays could flock together in home territory and pull off a feathered victory.
Albert’s Prediction: Toronto Blue Jays by 2