Blue Jays look to continue success vs. Orioles
The rivalry between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles has been lopsided this season.
Toronto has gone 12-4 against Baltimore and will look to maintain that dominance when the teams play their final series of the year beginning Friday at Camden Yards.
The Blue Jays, however, are not the only team that has played well against the Orioles this season.
The Chicago White Sox took two of three games against Baltimore over the weekend. However, the Orioles won the finale 8-4, which means they can't match the major league record of 120 losses in a season set by the 1962 New York Mets.
Still, manager Buck Showalter is having a mini-crisis with his rotation because of injuries.
Andrew Cashner was supposed to start the opener Monday, but is dealing with a knee injury. Fellow starter Alex Cobb is out indefinitely with a blister, and rookies Luis Ortiz injured a hamstring and Josh Rogers is pushing his innings limit.
"We're trying to put some things in place to cover us in case there continues to be a need," Showalter said. "I look at Rogers and Cashner and even Ortiz in kind of the same light. We'll see how Cobb's blister, how that all develops. I hope it doesn't develop. They were talking about potentially throwing some today, but I haven't gotten the report back on that yet."
As a result, Showalter has not named a starter for Monday against the Blue Jays but has three players in mind, none of whom have started this season.
Relievers Sean Gilmartin and Donnie Hart are two of the potential candidates. However, Showalter conceded that it's going to be a bullpen game.
Baltimore catcher Chance Sisco suffered a cut on his chin in the fourth inning Sunday against Chicago and his status is uncertain. He is being tested for a concussion.
The Blue Jays are also well out of contention, but took two of three weekend games against the Yankees. Nonetheless, there are reports that manager John Gibbons will not be retained after the season. While there has not been any official announcement, Gibbons is preparing himself for that decision.
"Maybe they would benefit from getting a fresh face that would grow with the young players. I'm not sure I want to go through one of those things -- a total rebuild," he told the MLB Network.
Toronto will turn to rookie Ryan Borucki (3-4, 4.26 ERA) to pitch Monday against Baltimore. The left-hander was solid in his last outing against first-place Boston, allowing two and three hits with five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.
"He was tremendous tonight, no doubt about it. That's probably as good as I've seen him throw," Gibbons said after the game. "It's tough to shut a team down. He pretty much did that. He's got good sink on his fastballs. You've got to stay aggressive. They've got a real good lineup."
Borucki previously faced Baltimore on Aug. 29 and allowed five runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. He did not pick up a decision, but the Blue Jays lost 10-5.
"I try to keep it together out there," Borucki said. "I didn't want to show too much, but I was definitely frustrated in myself."
