Baltimore @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Sep 24, 2010 ) Baltimore 4, Toronto 6
The Toronto Blue Jays have won 12 straight home games against the Baltimore Orioles heading into Saturday afternoon’s matinee.
The Blue Jays (78-75) received another big day from Jose Bautista in Friday's series opener as he smacked his 51st and 52nd home runs of the year to power Toronto to a 6-4 victory. He now has six homers in his last eight games and leads the Blue Jays with 115 RBIs.
Vernon Wells added his 30th homer of the season, becoming just the fourth Toronto player with three 30-home run seasons.
With 82 home runs between Bautista and Wells, the Blue Jays are within striking distance of the franchise’s record of 244 homers in the 2000 season.
Toronto needs eight long balls in its last nine games to pass that mark, but it could have a tough time adding to its total on Saturday against Baltimore ace Jeremy Guthrie (10-14, 3.92 ERA).
Guthrie is looking to bounce back from one of his worst outings of the year and pick up a career-best 11th win. He gave up six runs over five innings of work in an 11-3 loss to the New York Yankees after going 3-0 with a 0.81 ERA in three previous starts.
The veteran right-hander has been the most consistent starter in the Baltimore rotation and continues to get by with great control. Guthrie, who has walked only 49 batters in 30 starts this season, has issued more than two walks only once in his last 12 starts.
Guthrie is 0-2 with a 2.29 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays this season, but Baltimore (61-92) has given him only three runs of support so far.
Toronto starter Ricky Romero (13-9, 3.75) is also searching for a new career high in the wins department after topping out at 13-9 last season.
The lefty has won three of his last four outings and is 3-0 with a 1.14 ERA in three starts against the Orioles this year. He bounced back from a rough outing against the Tampa Bay Rays the last time he took the hill, allowing three runs and seven hits over six innings in a 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Nick Markakis is swinging a hot bat for Baltimore. He is 8-for-18 in his last four games after picking up three hits on Friday and is hitting .385 at the Rogers Centre this season.
The Blue Jays have taken 13 of 16 games against the Orioles this year while hammering 30 home runs to Baltimore’s seven in the season series.