Orioles Fall to the Tigers, Blue Jays Continue Win Streak
The Baltimore Orioles (40-31) traveled to the Detroit Tigers (39-29) on Monday and lost 5 to 1. They also had to witness Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer (10-0) strike out 10 of their players as he captured his 10th win for the season.
Max Scherzer
Scherzer now sits as the first Major Leaguer since 1997 when Roger Clemens started the season at 10-0 and only the second starter in his team’s history to do so, falling in behind George Mullin’s 104 year-old start. He also sits with Pedro Martinez (2001) to have a minimum of six strikeouts over his first 14 starts in a season, according to STATS.
For the night, Scherzer did allow one run with seven hits over six innings.
One bright spot for the Orioles in this night dominated by Scherzer’s play, was Chris Davis hitting home run No. 24 in the second inning. His good night didn’t continue as he fell flat in the fifth inning when he stuck out with loaded bases while the Orioles sat in a two-run deficit.
Jake Arrieta (1-2) pitched for the Orioles and gave up five runs on 10 hits from his 4 2/3 innings. This didn’t bode well for the team and now Arrieta is going back to Triple-A Norfolk with his 7.23 ERA.
The Orioles sit two games behind the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox (42-29). They will continue their series against the Tigers on Tuesday. Lefty Zach Britton (0-1) will get the Orioles pitching start instead of righty Jason Hammel (7-4) while Tigers righty Justin Verlander (8-4) will take the mound.
It could be another tough night for the Orioles as Verlander defeated them on June 1 after giving up three runs in seven innings. He is 8-0 from 12 career starts vs. Baltimore with a 2.93 ERA.
The Orioles sit at +1600 to win this year’s World Series while the Tigers are +600.
Blue Jays Defeat Rockies, 2-0
The Toronto Blue Jays (33-36) defeated the Colorado Rockies (37-34), 2-0 on Monday, extending their win streak to six games–a first since May 2011. They now sit eight games behind the Red Sox.
Maicer Izturis
It was a scoreless game until the eighth inning when Blue Jays Maicer Izturis hit a two-run single to the left, enabling his team to get on the board and eventually obtain the win.
Blue Jays righty pitcher Josh Johnson (0-2), who had been nursing a blister, had a good outing, striking out a season-high 10 hitters in 7 1/3 innings. He remains without a win in his seven starts with Toronto.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Johnson’s play via The Associated Press, “He had everything going on. Good, live fastball, ball had a lot of jump on it, and a good breaking ball.”
Rockies starting lefty Jorge De La Rosa also had a good night on the mound as he didn’t give up a hit until an Izturis single in the sixth inning. It was the only one for the pitcher as he had seven shutout innings with three walks and four strikes.
Can the Blue Jays see win No. 7 on Tuesday night? Former reliever righty Esmil Rogers (2-2) will take the mound for Toronto and face his former team. In his last outing, he helped the team kick off their win streak last Thursday, pitching for seven innings with one run, five hits and one walk in a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers (39-31).
For Colorado, lefty Jeff Francis (2-4) will have pitching duty.
Toronto will continue its win streak (-168, 9.5 o/u).
Tuesday GamesÂ
In other AL East games, the Red Sox will host the Tampa Bay Rays (36-33). It’s a pitching battle between Red Sox Lefty Felix Dubront (4-3) vs. Tampa’s righty Chris Archer (1-2).
Boston gets the win (-114, 10 o/u).
The New York Yankees (38-31) will host the Los Angeles Dodgers (38-31). Yankees righty Ray Hughes (3-5) takes the mound vs. the Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-2).
Look for a Yankees win (-106, 8.5 o/u).
