Red Sox vs. Orioles Thursday MLB probable pitchers, odds: Baltimore would clinch AL East, top seed in playoffs with victory

The Baltimore Orioles have already secured a spot in the American League postseason for the first time since 2016, but they would clinch their first AL East title since 2014 and the top seed in the Junior Circuit playoffs with a victory over the visiting and long-eliminated Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. The O's are -130 on the SportsLine consensus.

Baltimore's 99 victories are the franchise's most since 1980. The O's are 40 games over .500 for the first time since 1979, when they went 102-60 and won the World Series. The only way the Orioles don't win the AL East is if they are swept by the Red Sox in this four-game series and the Rays win all three games in Toronto this weekend – and the Jays still have plenty to play for. Baltimore has not been swept in 90 consecutive multi-game series, easily the longest active streak in MLB and among the longest ever.

"We're playing in the toughest division in sports. And to lose 110 two years ago -- and to have a chance to win 100 now -- it says a lot about those guys in that room," manager Brandon Hyde said.

As the presumed top seed, the O's would host the last wild card team in the ALDS starting next weekend – most likely Toronto, Seattle or Houston (it can't be Tampa Bay, which will be the No. 1 WC team). Baltimore is +290 to win the pennant, only behind AL West leader Texas (+265), which might actually get ace Max Scherzer back from injury for the postseason. Rangers over Orioles at +550 is the favored straight ALCS forecast at DraftKings, while Baltimore over Texas is next at +600. The current longshot is Twins over Rangers at +40000.

Dean Kremer takes the hill for the Birds on Thursday. He will likely be the No. 3 starter in the postseason behind Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez. Kremer (12-5, 4.25 ERA) was terrific in August but could be tiring (career-high 167.1 IP) with a 4.67 ERA in four starts this month, and he only pitched a total of 17.1 innings in them. Kremer is 1-0 in two starts this year against Boston despite a 9.35 ERA. Both outings were in April.

There are many reasons why the Sox will miss the playoffs again and why manager Alex Cora is on the hot seat, but one big reason is that ace Chris Sale (6-4, 4.42 ERA in 97.2 IP) simply can't stay healthy any longer. The lanky lefty is still a very good pitcher when he's right and has allowed one or zero earned runs in three of his four starts this month. He is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA in two starts vs. Baltimore.

The Sox enter having lost four straight and have four wins in their past 20. They are guaranteed to finish below .500 for the third time in four seasons and will finish last in the AL East, also for the third time in four seasons. That can't be good for Cora's future, even though Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy indicated after the firing of Chaim Bloom as chief baseball operations officer on Sept. 14 that Cora's job security was not in question.

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