Toronto @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Apr 12, 2014 ) Toronto 1, Baltimore 2
The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles displayed the ability to be somewhat productive on offense entering their three-game set, but both teams have stymied the other through two games. After totaling five runs this weekend, the American League East rivals hope to wake up their bats in time to win the rubber game on Sunday in Baltimore. Toronto scored 16 runs in its previous series against the Houston Astros, but has managed only three (two unearned) versus the Orioles.
The Blue Jays have scored their runs thanks to two throwing errors by the Orioles in the opener and a two-strike, two-out home run in the ninth inning from Colby Rasmus in the second game. Baltimore’s offensive decline has been more dramatic, however, after it posted 19 runs on 32 hits over the final two contests of its previous series against the New York Yankees. The Orioles, who have been limited to two runs and 14 hits by the Blue Jays, were blanked in the opener before they notched their third win in four games Saturday on David Lough’s walk-off single in the 12th.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, SNET (Toronto), MASN2 (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays LH Mark Buehrle (2-0, 0.64 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Ubaldo Jimenez (0-2, 6.75)
After posting the second-highest strikeout total of his career (11) in a win against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 2, Buehrle returned to his pitch-to-contact ways in Tuesday’s 5-2 triumph over the Houston Astros. The four-time All-Star fanned three over 5 1/3 innings while yielding one run on eight hits. Buehrle, who lost all three of his starts versus Baltimore in 2013, owns a 7-8 record and 3.42 ERA in 21 all-time appearances (19 starts) against the Orioles.
Jimenez is still searching for his first win and quality start after inking a four-year contract worth $50 million in the offseason. The 30-year-old has allowed 21 baserunners in his first 10 2/3 innings as an Oriole, with much of that damage coming after he surrendered four runs on eight hits and five walks over 4 2/3 innings during Monday’s 4-2 loss versus the Yankees. Jimenez last faced Toronto on July 9 as a member of the Cleveland Indians, getting the win after tossing six scoreless frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Blue Jays LF Melky Cabrera can pass Vernon Wells for the longest hit streak to open a season by a Blue Jay since 2006 with a hit in his 13th straight game on Sunday.
2. Orioles SS J.J. Hardy (back spasms) returned from a five-game absence on Saturday and went 0-for-5.
3. Toronto ranks 28th in the majors with a .209 average.
PREDICTION: Blue Jays 4, Orioles 3