Baltimore @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 15, 2010 ) Toronto 1, Baltimore 3

The Baltimore Orioles have been a completely different team since Buck Showalter took over managerial duties, but it remains to be seen whether he can figure out a way to get the club some wins in Canada against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Orioles (61-91) take on the Blue Jays in Game 1 of a three-game set at the Rogers Center, where Baltimore has lost 11 straight games dating back to August of last year. The O’s are 29-18 under Showalter’s management and he’s helped turn a 14-40 road record to start the season into a 13-8 stretch as visitors since he has been calling the shots.

They’ll face a Toronto team that has been fantastic at home all season. The Blue Jays (77-75) are 40-32 in front of their home crowd but have won just three of their last eight overall.

Jose Bautista led the club to a 1-0 victory with his 50th home run of the year on Thursday, becoming the first Blue Jay to ever reach the half-century mark. Bautista got his start in the majors with Baltimore in 2004 and has hit seven homers in 15 games against the O’s this year.

He’ll be up against Orioles starter Chris Tillman (1-4, 6.42 ERA), who is having a terrible time finding the strike zone lately. Tillman has walked six in each of his last two trips to the mound and lasted only 3 2/3 innings against the Yankees last Sunday, allowing three runs on three hits. Showalter wasn’t pleased with that effort and called Tillman out for it, so we’ll see if the 22-year-old can pull it together today.

Brett Cecil (13-7, 4.25 ERA) gets the ball for the Blue Jays, looking to rebound from two tough starts. He was chased by the Tampa Bay Rays after two innings on Sept. 10, allowing seven runs on eight hits and then gave up five runs over six innings of work in an 11-9 win against the Boston Red Sox.

Cecil had been on a great roll before his last two starts, allowing more than three runs only once over his 11 previous outings.

Cecil has had the Orioles’ number this season, going 2-0 in three starts with a 1.96 ERA. Baltimore’s offense has been better under Showalter, but still manages only 3.80 runs per game on the season with a .259 team batting average.

Baltimore is coming off a 6-1 loss at Boston that denied them a series sweep.