Toronto @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Jul 17, 2010 ) Toronto 3, Baltimore 2
May must seem like a long time ago to Toronto Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum.
The right-hander makes his return from an elbow injury Sunday as the Blue Jays aim for a sweep of their weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
Toronto won the opening two games of the series to improve to 7-0 against the Orioles this season, including a 5-0 mark in Baltimore.
Marcum hasn't pitched since July 1, when he was touched for six runs in just four innings of a 6-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians. He was diagnosed with elbow inflammation after the game and was shut down through the All-Star break to rest and recover.
The team wanted to be extra-cautious with Marcum, who missed all of last season after going ligament replacement surgery.
The injury capped an up-and-down stretch for Marcum (7-4), who struggled with inconsistency in June after a sizzling 5-0 start to the season. The 28-year-old has gone just 2-3 over his last six starts while seeing his ERA rise nearly a full point to 3.44.
Marcum has faced the Orioles twice this season and fared well in both outings, earning a victory and a no-decision while allowing just two runs over 12 innings. He is 2-2 all-time against Baltimore with a 5.08 ERA in 56 2/3 innings, and his 10 career starts versus the Orioles entering Sunday are the most against any team.
He'll look to continue what has been a strong showing by Toronto's starting pitchers so far this weekend. Ricky Romero scattered five hits over seven sensational innings in Friday's 4-2 victory, while Brandon Morrow was steady over his seven-inning stint as the Blue Jays rallied for a 3-2 triumph the following night.
Saturday's win moved Toronto back over the .500 mark for the season, but any chance of securing a playoff spot in the ultra-competitive American League East has likely evaporated.
Toronto opens today's action 11 1/2 games back of the New York Yankees and nine back of the runner-up Tampa Bay Rays. Those two teams own the best records in the major leagues, and the third-place Boston Red Sox are also in the chase, just 5 1/2 back of New York.
With the Jays looking toward the future, the team dealt away Alex Gonzalez to the Atlanta Braves this week for fellow shortstop Yunel Escobar. The 27-year-old newcomer has asserted himself well over his first two games in a Toronto uniform, hitting 3-for-9 with a run scored.
He'll look to build on those numbers against Baltimore starter Brian Matusz (3-9), who has had a season to forget. Since opening the season with two straight wins, the 23-year-old left-hander has just one victory in his last 15 starts.
Matusz struggled in his last outing, lasting just three innings against the Texas Rangers in a game the Orioles went on to win 7-6. The former first-round pick allowed four runs on six hits and issued four walks, just five days after holding the Boston Red Sox scoreless over seven solid innings.
Matusz has made just one career start against the Blue Jays and it was one of the worst of his brief career. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings after surrendering five runs on seven hits as Toronto cruised to a 7-3 victory last Aug. 9.