Game 1 Mariners vs. Blue Jays picks and odds: Ride Manoah in wild-card opener

The best-of-three AL wild-card series starts with the game between the Mariners and Blue Jays.

Toronto hosts Seattle on Friday to open the series at Rogers Centre. Both teams enter as winners in seven of their past 10 games.

Blue Jays lead the series against Seattle by 102 runs after five innings. The host team won six of seven games between Toronto and Seattle this season. Toronto won two of three games at Rogers Centre in May.

Alek Manoah was named AL Pitcher of the Month in September. He has a 0.88 ERA over six starts for the Blue Jays and five wins against the Mariners. Toronto is 4-1-0 at the five-inning mark in Manaah's past six games.

Blue Jays are covering the run line in both home wins against Seattle this season and in five of their past six games overall. Seattle starter Luis Castillo has had a stellar year but his recent numbers on the road are unflattering.

Castillo is mediocre on the road, but Toronto's offence was good this year. The Blue Jays ranked second in the majors in wRC+ (118) and averaged 4.78 runs per game (second in AL).