Matt Fargo

This is a play on the TORONTO BLUE JAYS for our A.L. East Game of the Month. Toronto can lock up the No. 1 Wild Card seed in the American League as its magic number is three games so any combination of wins and Seattle losses gets it that slot but with the Mariners finishing with four games against Detroit, Toronto needs to worry about itself. The Blue Jays have won three straight games after sweeping Boston, a team record 16 wins against the Red Sox, to finish 47-34 at home which is eighth best in baseball but it is their road record that has gotten them back into the postseason. They are 43-35 on the road and are on the plus side in units and has a good matchup here with Jose Berrios on the hill as he has faced Baltimore three times and has thrown three quality outings while posting a 3.31 ERA in those games. Toronto is 26-8 against the money line in its last 34 games with a team slugging percentage .400 or worse on the season. Baltimore was eliminated from the postseason last week but it was still an unreal season as it because the first team since 1900 to finish .500 or better a season after finishing the previous season with 110 or more losses. Pretty impressive stuff and the Orioles come in in a bit of a slump as they have lost six of their last nine games and this is now the 11th straight games they have been underdogs so they still are not getting a lot of respect but this number is fair and probably should be higher with the stakes at hand. Dean Kreamer has been very solid this season since hitting the rotation in June and will be a big commodity in this rotation for a while. He has eight straight starts of allowing three or fewer runs but he catches this offense at the wrong time that put up 25 runs against the Red Sox over the weekend. Here, we play against American League home underdogs with a bullpen that converts on 75 percent or more of their save opportunities going up against an opponent with a starting pitcher whose ERA is 5.20 to 5.70 on the season. This situation is 54-18 (75 percent) since 1997. 10* (969) Toronto Blue Jays

This is a play on the LOS ANGELES RAMS for our NFL Monday Star Attraction. The Rams have won two straight games following a season opening loss against the Bills and can take sole possession of first place in the NFC West at 3-1 including an all-important 2-0 division record with both coming on the road. Los Angeles has an offense that has yet to show much as it is ranked No. 26 overall including No. 30 in rushing offense and this does not seem to be the ideal matchup to get the offense rolling but while the 49ers and strong on defense across the board, they have not played a team with a semblance of an offense. The Rams defense has gotten better over the last three games after getting lit up by the Bills in that opener. This is the last time the Rams leave home in October as they have three straight home games along with a bye week so this victory could set the stage for a mini run that could space them out in the division prior to the second half of the season. San Francisco lost a tough one last week in Denver and the offense has managed 10 points in two of its first three games. Jimmy Garoppolo remains erratic at quarterback and while he faced a tough defense last week, the Rams are not far off and he did struggle against a much worse Seahawks defense. Part of the issue against the Broncos was the 49ers running game that was non-existent after two big games to open the season and the loss of Elijah Mitchell is a big one and while Jeff Mitchell was ok last week, nearly half of his 75 yards came on a 37-yard run so he averaged just 3.4 rpc on his other 11 carries. They will be out for revenge from the NFC Championship last season but that is not an angle to accept based on this being an early season divisional matchup for both teams. San Francisco is 1-10-1 ATS in its last twelve games as a divisional home favorite. Here, we play against favorites averaging 17 or fewer ppg. This situation is 23-3 ATS (88.5 percent) over the last five seasons including 2-0 yesterday (Tennessee and New England). 10* (279) Los Angeles Rams