Right-hander Jose Berrios will try to continue his career success against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night and help the host Toronto Blue Jays reverse the trend in the teams’ four-game series.
The Orioles have won the first two games by a combined score of 17-3, including 10-1 on Tuesday.
Berrios (5-4, 2.78 ERA) is 10-1 with a 2.95 ERA in 15 career starts against the Orioles, who have won 10 of their past 12 games.
The Orioles are scheduled to start right-hander Albert Suarez (2-0, 1.57 ERA). He is 1-0 and hasn’t given up a run in two career relief outings against Toronto.
Berrios must contend with Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who continued to be a Blue Jays’ nemesis Tuesday with two home runs and five RBIs. He hit a three-run home run in the third and a two-run blast in the fifth, both against Bowden Francis.
Mountcastle has 10 homers for the season.
“He’s been taking really good at-bats all year,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “I’m so impressed with Mounty and how far he’s come and how much he’s developed, and the strike-zone awareness is so much better now and (he’s) a dangerous, dangerous hitter. The guy can really, really hit. He’s got great feel for where the barrel is, and he’s got unbelievable power, so he showed that tonight.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider faulted the execution against Mountcastle.
“You have to execute your pitches,” he said. “If you’re throwing (stuff) in the middle of the zone and hoping for a good result, it’s probably not going to happen against Ryan Mountcastle or against me if I’m hitting. You have to execute.”
Mountcastle’s fifth-inning homer traveled an estimated 443 feet to center.
In 56 career games against Toronto, the 27-year-old has 17 home runs and 48 RBIs. He has 10 multi-homer games in his career, four against the Blue Jays.
In 24 career games at Rogers Centre, he is 29-for-91 (.319) with seven doubles, eight home runs and 26 RBIs.
“They’re a good team and yeah, just grateful that I got a couple good hits today and in the past,” Mountcastle said.
Baltimore’s Connor Norby had his first career major league career hit, a two-run homer in the eighth inning, in his second MLB game and seventh at-bat.
The ball was retrieved.
“Probably give it to my parents, because I’ll lose it,” Norby said. “Something like that. It’s going in a case somewhere.”
Orioles ace Corbin Burnes allowed one run in seven innings to record a career-best eighth straight quality start.
The Blue Jays started Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at third base for the second time in three games, with Justin Turner at first base and Daniel Vogelbach at designated hitter. The idea of moving Guerrero to third was to produce more offense with both Turner and Vogelbach in the lineup. The trio was a combined 2-for-10 Tuesday.
The Blue Jays have struggled offensively for most of the season. They have scored just 234 times — 70 fewer runs than the Orioles.
“Corbin Burnes is a really good pitcher, but you can’t say that about everybody you face, right?” Schneider said.
Toronto reinstated right-hander Francis from the injured list (right forearm extensor tendinitis) Tuesday and optioned right-hander Ryan Burr to Triple-A Buffalo.
Francis allowed five hits and four runs in 3 1/3 innings on Tuesday, his first outing since April 24.
–Field Level Media