A second straight awful performance from their starting pitcher and shoddy defense conspired to doom the Orioles in Toronto Tuesday night.
The Blue Jays handed the O’s their season-high forth loss in a row, knocking off the Orioles 8-6. Jake Arrieta threw just 4.1 innings and gave up up 7 runs (6 ER) on 6 hits, falling to 2-6 on the year. He also committed one of three Orioles errors.
Adam Jones extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a lead off home run in the 2nd inning, putting the Orioles up 1-0. Arrieta couldn’t hold the lead, however, as the Blue Jays got to him with two runs in the 3rd and three more in the 4th.
In the 5th, Arrieta walked both Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion before he fanned Colby Rasmus. Arrieta was replaced by Miguel Gonzalez, who made his major league debut.
Gonzalez fanned J.P. Arencibia, then gave up three straight run-scoring singles, and the Blue Jays led 8-1. The 5th inning also saw the ejection of Matt Wieters, who was thrown out arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Doug Eddings.
The Orioles were able to grasp some dignity out of an otherwise ugly outing, thanks to a 2-run home run by Chris Davis, along with Jones’ second homer of the night, a 2-run shot in the 9th inning.
The potential go-ahead run came to the plate twice in the 9th, but Davis fouled out on a fine sliding catch by Jays’ third baseman Brett Lawrie. Wilson Betemit grounded to shortstop Yunel Escobar to end the game.
Tomorrow night, the Orioles will look to salvage the last game of their three game set in Toronto at 7:05, as Jason Hammel takes the mound looking for win number 7. He’ll be up against Brandon Morrow.
The Good
- Adam Jones had a perfect night at the plate: 3-3 with a pair of homers, 3 RBIs and 2 walks.
- Matt Wieters showed some fire when he was thrown out of the game for arguing over an inconsistent strike zone.
The Bad
- Jake Arrieta continues to falter on the mound. He has allowed 10 earned runs in his last 10 innings.
- The O’s defense continues to be a major problem, with 3 more errors Tuesday. Only the Giants have committed more errors in major league baseball.
