Blue Jays hitters hope to go long against Orioles once again
BALTIMORE -- The Toronto Blue Jays, like many teams, have feasted on the pitching of the Baltimore Orioles this season. Toronto banged out three homers in Monday's 5-0 victory and now has hit 37 against the Orioles this year.
When the two teams meet for the second game of the series on Tuesday at 7:05 ET at Camden Yards, the Blue Jays hope to do more of the same. Toronto (68-82) will start Aaron Sanchez (4-6, 4.90) against Baltimore right-hander Dylan Bundy (8-14, 5.48).
Home runs have been a huge problem for Bundy also this year as he's given up 38 homers already -- the most in the major leagues.
The Jays got homers from Danny Jansen, Kevin Pillar and Aledmys Diaz in Monday's victory. It was humid at Camden Yards, and when that happens, for some reason, the ball tends to fly out of the yard more often.
But the ball didn't go very far for the Orioles (43-107) in Monday's game as Toronto starter Ryan Borucki threw eight shutout innings en route to the victory. He impressed manager John Gibbons with his work.
"He's going to get occasional strikeouts, but he needs to get ground balls, so he needs to keep those guys off-balance," Gibbons told the media Monday. "I'll tell you what, I'm proud of him."
Up next for Toronto will be Sanchez. He has found success versus Baltimore in his career, posting a 6-3 record with a 3.87 ERA.
Bundy pitched better in his last start and has a 3-2 career record plus a 3.63 ERA versus the Jays. However, the right-hander has faded after a strong start to the season.
The loss in Monday's game was the 15th time the Orioles have been shut out this season but more importantly, it tied a club record for losses in a season (107).
The 1988 Orioles set that record, a season that began with 21 consecutive losses and manager Cal Ripken, Sr. being let go after just six games. This season did not have anything like that but there are a number of losing streaks and numerous other issues that the Orioles just could not fix.
"It's frustrating to say the least," Chris Davis told MASNsports.com. "Once we hit 100, it was kind of like ... I don't know. I honestly didn't have any words for it. It was embarrassing. It was frustrating. It's one of those things you never want to be associated with, but at the same time, you've got to learn how to turn the page and start somewhere. Why not start now?"
Davis now is mired in a 1-for-25 slide and has been having one of the worst offensive seasons in baseball history. He's probably as frustrated as anyone, if not more so.
The only positive to come out of this season is that since Baltimore has just 12 games left, it looks like the team will finish with the worst record in the majors -- meaning the Orioles would get the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft.
Sometimes good things come out of bad situations.
