Orioles' Miley hoping for better control versus Blue Jays (Sep 02, 2017)
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles are trying to start another winning streak on Saturday.
The Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 on Friday in 13 innings after losing Thursday night. Baltimore had won seven straight to jump back into the wild card race, and it wants to go on another streak starting with the Saturday night game versus the Jays.
Jonathan Schoop got the walk-off double in the 13th Friday and said that the Orioles (69-66) just need to keep on winning. The Orioles are tied with the Angels, just 1 1/2 games behind the Twins for the second wild card.
"I think from now on, if you win, it matters," Schoop said. "Since the season started, you want to win every game possible but now, I think every win counts more."
Wade Miley (8-10, 4.99) will pitch for the Orioles in Saturday's game, the third in a four-game series with Toronto (62-73).
Miley has pitched a little better of late, winning three of his last four starts, but is still battling command issues.
He often runs the count full, which usually gets him out of the game after five or six innings. The left-hander keeps escaping tough situations recently but has struggled versus the Blue Jays, posting only a 2-6 career record with a 4.65 ERA in nine starts.
For Toronto, Marcus Stroman (11-6, 3.11 ERA) will make his second start of the season versus the Orioles. He threw 7 2/3 innings in a 4-0 victory on June 28 and has pitched well throughout the season.
Stroman has won four of his last six decisions. He's 3-3 with a 4.44 career ERA against the Orioles in eight games, seven of which were starts.
The Orioles made several moves Friday because of the Sept. 1 roster expansion. Pedro Alvarez could really help them off the bench as he hit 22 homers for the Orioles last year but has been stuck in Triple-A Norfolk all season.
Joey Rickard returned from Norfolk also and gives Baltimore more speed and outfield depth and went into Friday's game in the fourth.
The Orioles could get shortstop J.J. Hardy back by Monday but he'll need a cortisone shot on his right elbow. He's got a tennis-elbow type of condition caused by all of the hitting he's done, manager Buck Showalter said.
But Baltimore lost outfielder Craig Gentry with a laceration and a fracture of his right middle finger while trying to bunt in Friday's game the doctor will see him Saturday or Sunday.
Toronto got a lot of help from the new players in Friday's loss. They made a lot of big plays but the Jays still came up short.
"The call-ups did a great job," Toronto manager John Gibbons said after Friday's loss. "A lot of good things happened tonight except for the score."
The Blue Jays called up four players and reinstated catcher Luke Maile from the disabled list on Friday.
Teoscar Hernandez, acquired in a trade with Houston at the trading deadline, was one of the call-ups and made his Toronto debut Friday night in the series opener. He played right field and went 1-for-4.
Toronto also brought up outfielder Michael Saunders, along with two others. Saunders started 2016 on a long hot streak and even made the All-Star Game, but faded after that.
After finishing the season with 24 homers, Saunders signed a one-year deal with the Phillies in the off-season, but hit just .205 in the first part of 2017 and was released June 23.
The Jays signed him back five days later, and he went to the minors.
They'll also hope to get first baseman Justin Smoak (right calf) back in the starting lineup. He hasn't started the past three games but pinch-hit in Friday's loss.
