The Blue Jays completed the sweep of the Orioles in Toronto on Wednesday, hitting four solo home runs off of Jason Hammel to seal the deal.
The Orioles struck first, as Ryan Flaherty’s infield single plated Mark Reynolds in the 2nd. The Jays answered right back in the bottom of the inning, as Edwin Encarnacion led off with his 17th home run of the year.
Lead off home runs in the 3rd (Rajai Davis) and 4th (Brett Lawrie), and a one-out solo shot from Cobly Rasmus in the 5th were all the runs Toronto would muster.
That was more than enough for the win, though, as the Orioles failed to mount any real scoring threats after the 2nd inning.
Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow rebounded after the shortest outing of his career last week in Texas. He had an easier time Wednesday, dominating yet another retooled Orioles lineup, with Flaherty filling in for Nick Markakis, who tweaked his wrist Tuesday.
Morrow struck out 8, walked 2, and gave up just 4 hits in 6.1 innings. The last hit he surrendered, a bullet by Wilson Betemit, hit Morrow on the right leg. He was helped off the field with a right shin contusion.
The Orioles get another much needed day off Thursday before they head to Tampa to take on the Rays in a 3-game battle for the top spot in the AL East. Wei-Yin Chen will try to snap the O’s 5-game skid when he goes up against David Price Friday night at 7:10.
The Good
- Not much, but there’s this: The Orioles remain tied for first in the East.
The Bad
- Hammel gave up more home runs Wednesday (4) than he’d allowed in his previous 54 innings (3).
- Unfortunately, getting hit doesn’t count as getting a hit. Adam Jones’ 20 game hitting streak came to an end, despite being hit in the hand by a pitch and taking a walk in the 9th.
- The Blue Jays had as many home runs as the Orioles had hits.
