Deadline deals help make Blue Jays favorites in ALCS

Deals at the trade deadline always make headlines when big names are involved. Not all of them pay off. The Toronto Blue Jays cashed in by acquiring shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and ace David Price.

By adding Tulowitzki from Colorado and Price from Detroit in late July, Toronto was able to overtake the New York Yankees and get to October. Now, can the Blue Jays take the next step to the World Series?

Toronto is a minus-150 favorite over the Royals in the American League Championship Series, which begins today in Kansas City.

"Toronto deserves to be favored, but that looks a little high," William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich said. "K.C. has got home field and is free-rolling after being down big to Houston and coming back to win that series."

The Blue Jays are minus-115 favorites in the opener with Marco Estrada opposing the Royals' Edinson Volquez. Price is scheduled to start Game 2.

Price's postseason resume is less than stellar. The left-hander allowed eight earned runs in 10 innings in two division series appearances against Texas. He was much better in the regular season, posting a 2.30 ERA in 11 starts for Toronto.

Tulowitzki has slumped in the playoffs, but the Blue Jays have plenty of big bats in an explosive lineup led by Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson. Toronto's obvious advantage is its offense.

Kansas City, which fell in Game 7 of last year's World Series, has players who are proven performers under pressure. The Royals' starting rotation has question marks, but their bullpen ranks as one of baseball's best.

The Blue Jays won the season series 4-3, outscoring the Royals 39-33, but the teams have not met since Aug. 2.

The baseball betting handle in Las Vegas has surged significantly this month, mostly because of the Chicago Cubs' popularity. The Cubs eliminated Pittsburgh in a wild-card game before knocking out St. Louis in four games.

"The Cubs are definitely creating a lot of interest," Bogdanovich said. "Everything is good. There are good storylines on every team."

Chicago opened as a minus-120 favorite over the Mets in the National League Championship Series, which begins Saturday in New York.

The Dodgers, with Zack Greinke starting as a minus-140 favorite, lost to the Mets 3-2 in Game 5 on Thursday in Los Angeles.

The Cubs figure to be slight favorites in the series opener against either Matt Harvey or Noah Syndergaard. Cubs manager Joe Maddon plans to go with lefty Jon Lester in Game 1 and right-handed ace Jake Arrieta in Game 2.

The series will have Las Vegas ties on each side. Syndergaard started 31 games for the Triple-A 51s the past two seasons. Kris Bryant, a Bonanza High School product, hit 26 home runs as a rookie for the Cubs.

— Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247