Baltimore @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 23, 2014 ) Baltimore 10, Toronto 8

The Baltimore Orioles are finding that no lead is safe during their current seven-game road trip, which wraps up with the finale of a three-game series at the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. The Orioles failed to hold leads of five and three runs and nearly squandered a 6-0 cushion in the last four games, but they turned the tables on Toronto by erasing a five-run deficit in Wednesday's 10-8 win. Baltimore's Bud Norris will oppose Toronto's Drew Hutchison in a rematch from April 12.

The Blue Jays have hit four three-run homers - two by Brett Lawrie - in the first two games of the series, but they watched Nelson Cruz and the Orioles flex their muscles with four blasts of their own on Wednesday. Cruz hit a grand slam and a solo shot and has knocked in 14 runs during a six-game RBI streak for Baltimore, which has surrendered 37 runs on the road trip. Jose Bautista has reached safely in all 21 games for Toronto, which has scored 30 runs in its last three versus the Orioles.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, MLBN, MASN (Baltimore), TVA, RSN (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Bud Norris (0-2, 4.42 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Drew Hutchison (1-1, 3.60)

Norris, who still is searching for his first victory, will attempt to duplicate his best effort of the season when he blanked the Orioles on five hits over seven innings 12 days ago. A trade-deadline acquisition from Houston in 2013, Norris had a season-high seven strikeouts and pitched well before running into seventh-inning trouble in a 4-2 defeat at Boston last time out. The 29-year-old faced Toronto in his last start of 2013 and lasted only four innings, giving up three runs on seven hits.

Hutchison missed nearly two full seasons due to Tommy John surgery but has turned in three strong efforts in four starts, including six scoreless innings of four-hit ball at Baltimore earlier this month. The hard-throwing 23-year-old followed that up by matching a career high with nine strikeouts in 5 1/3 frames at Cleveland, an outing cut short after he surrendered a two-run homer in the sixth inning. Hutchison has limited Baltimore to a .203 batting average in three career starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Lawrie has five homers and 15 RBIs in his last nine games.

2. Orioles 1B Chris Davis, who has reached base in 19 straight games, has hit 19 of his 21 career homers against Toronto since the start of the 2012 season.

3. Blue Jays SS Jose Reyes is 6-for-16 and OF Melky Cabrera is 3-for-7 with three RBIs versus Norris.

PREDICTION: Blue Jays 6, Orioles 4