6/16 - bal/tor
Baltimore's continued struggles in Toronto has the Blue Jays in position to salvage a .500 homestand.
The Blue Jays can do that with a series sweep and 17th straight home victory over the Orioles on Thursday afternoon.Toronto (34-34) was swept by Boston to open a six-game home stretch, but has continued its home dominance of Baltimore by winning the first two of the set. Ricky Romero tied a career high with 12 strikeouts and Adam Lind homered for the second straight game as the Blue Jays extended their franchise-high home winning streak over the Orioles with a 4-1 victory Wednesday.Baltimore (30-35), which has dropped four straight after winning four in a row, has been outscored 96-41 during its 16-game skid at Rogers Centre dating to Aug. 7, 2009. The Orioles have lost 25 of 27 at Toronto."We can do better," said Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, who is 4 for 20 versus Toronto this season. "We've got a good team. We've got to just take a step back and get better."Lind is 8 for 11 with four homers and seven RBIs his last three games against the Orioles."I have a much better plan and I think that's part of having some success," said Lind, who has six home runs and 14 RBIs in 11 games since coming of the DL with a sore lower back.Teammate Yunel Escobar is 6 for 9 with two RBIs in the series, and batting .391 with two homers and six RBIs versus Baltimore this season.While Escobar is 2 for 11 with a home run against scheduled Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie (2-8, 3.77 ERA), Lind is a lifetime .364 hitter with a homer off the right-hander.The Orioles can use a good effort from Guthrie after their starters have posted a 6.52 ERA and walked 12 while striking out nine during the four-game skid.Guthrie, however, is 0-4 with a 4.73 ERA in seven starts against the Blue Jays since beating them May 25, 2009. He allowed six runs in five innings of a 7-4 loss to Toronto on June 5.He is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in four starts since beating Washington on May 21. Guthrie allowed three runs in six innings of a 7-5, 11-inning loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday.Catcher Matt Wieters had one of four Orioles hits and drove in the lone run Wednesday. Wieters has hit .429 (6 for 14) with a homer and three RBIs during the four-game skid.J.J. Hardy has batted .394 during an eight-game hitting streak, and .400 (8 for 20) against the Blue Jays in 2011.Baltimore looks to get back on track against right-hander Zach Stewart, who will make his major league debut for the Blue Jays. The 24-year-old Stewart was 4-3 with a 4.39 ERA in 12 starts for Double-A New Hampshire, including 1-0 with a 2.37 ERA over his last three."Zach is someone that was very close to a callup last year," general manager Alex Anthopoulos told the Blue Jays' official website. "He has done everything we asked him to do."Stewart takes the rotation spot of Kyle Drabek, who was demoted to the minors.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES AND THE UNDER (10 UNITS ON EACH)
The Blue Jays can do that with a series sweep and 17th straight home victory over the Orioles on Thursday afternoon.Toronto (34-34) was swept by Boston to open a six-game home stretch, but has continued its home dominance of Baltimore by winning the first two of the set. Ricky Romero tied a career high with 12 strikeouts and Adam Lind homered for the second straight game as the Blue Jays extended their franchise-high home winning streak over the Orioles with a 4-1 victory Wednesday.Baltimore (30-35), which has dropped four straight after winning four in a row, has been outscored 96-41 during its 16-game skid at Rogers Centre dating to Aug. 7, 2009. The Orioles have lost 25 of 27 at Toronto."We can do better," said Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, who is 4 for 20 versus Toronto this season. "We've got a good team. We've got to just take a step back and get better."Lind is 8 for 11 with four homers and seven RBIs his last three games against the Orioles."I have a much better plan and I think that's part of having some success," said Lind, who has six home runs and 14 RBIs in 11 games since coming of the DL with a sore lower back.Teammate Yunel Escobar is 6 for 9 with two RBIs in the series, and batting .391 with two homers and six RBIs versus Baltimore this season.While Escobar is 2 for 11 with a home run against scheduled Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie (2-8, 3.77 ERA), Lind is a lifetime .364 hitter with a homer off the right-hander.The Orioles can use a good effort from Guthrie after their starters have posted a 6.52 ERA and walked 12 while striking out nine during the four-game skid.Guthrie, however, is 0-4 with a 4.73 ERA in seven starts against the Blue Jays since beating them May 25, 2009. He allowed six runs in five innings of a 7-4 loss to Toronto on June 5.He is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in four starts since beating Washington on May 21. Guthrie allowed three runs in six innings of a 7-5, 11-inning loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday.Catcher Matt Wieters had one of four Orioles hits and drove in the lone run Wednesday. Wieters has hit .429 (6 for 14) with a homer and three RBIs during the four-game skid.J.J. Hardy has batted .394 during an eight-game hitting streak, and .400 (8 for 20) against the Blue Jays in 2011.Baltimore looks to get back on track against right-hander Zach Stewart, who will make his major league debut for the Blue Jays. The 24-year-old Stewart was 4-3 with a 4.39 ERA in 12 starts for Double-A New Hampshire, including 1-0 with a 2.37 ERA over his last three."Zach is someone that was very close to a callup last year," general manager Alex Anthopoulos told the Blue Jays' official website. "He has done everything we asked him to do."Stewart takes the rotation spot of Kyle Drabek, who was demoted to the minors.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES AND THE UNDER (10 UNITS ON EACH)