 tossed six innings of four-hit ball to earn his first win since May 25. He was 0-7 in his previous 12 starts, though he did pitch very well against Toronto his last time out.The game was scoreless until the Orioles broke through in the sixth against Sam Gaviglio (3-7). After Chris Davis drove in a run by hitting into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, Trey Mancini hit a three-run homer to send Baltimore on its way to its first win since Aug. 18.Mancini added a two-run double in the seventh and scored on a single by Tim Beckham. The five RBIs for Mancini matched his career high.The Orioles improved to 2-12 against Toronto.SURPRISE STREAKMorales endured an 0-for-29 skid in May and had only 14 homers on Aug. 14 before launching his improbable streak.''It's been a surprise. I didn't see it coming,'' Toronto manager John Gibbons said. ''What's made it more incredible is the overly extended slump at the start of the season.'' When Morales is on a roll, even pitches out of the strike zone can end up soaring over the outfield wall.Asked how his staff could keep Morales from tying the record, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said, ''It's so easy to sit there and go, `Listen, just don't throw him anything.' It's hard to pitch around him, quite frankly.'' OLDIE BUT GOODIEToronto reliever Murphy Smith became the oldest Blue Jay to make his major league debut, at 31 years and 2 days. He has pitched in 277 minor league games.TRAINER'S ROOMBlue Jays: 3B Josh Donaldson (left calf tightness) will start a rehab assignment Tuesday at Class A Dunedin. He has been sidelined since May 29. ... INF Brandon Drury (broken left hand) had imaging done and is scheduled for another MRI later in the week, Gibbons said. ... INF Yangervis Solarte (right oblique strain) has started strengthening exercises. ... RHP Marcus Stroman (middle finger) has started catching and throwing progressions.Orioles: Rookie CF Cedric Mullins returned after missing Sunday night's game with a sore hip.UP NEXTBlue Jays: LHP Thomas Pannone (1-0, 1.59 ERA) seeks his second big league victory in his second career start Tuesday night. He blanked the Orioles over seven innings last Wednesday in his starting debut.Orioles: Showalter said he would announce his Tuesday starter after the game.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
StubHubStubHubJays visit O's as Morales seeks HR in eighth straight game 3h ago• 2 min read BALTIMORE -- Kendrys Morales will have a chance to tie a major league record Monday when his Toronto Blue Jays come to Oriole Park to start a three-game series versus Baltimore.Morales homered for the seventh consecutive game Sunday in a loss to the Phillies. The major league record for homers in consecutive games is eight, shared by Ken Griffey Jr. (1993), Don Mattingly (1987) and Dale Long (1956)."It's pretty impressive," Toronto manager John Gibbons told the media Sunday. "It's a surprise he still gets pitches to hit. It really couldn't happen to a better guy." Morales also could be helped by the fact that he's coming to Camden Yards, a place the baseball tends to fly out of on a warm summer night.Morales comes into the Baltimore series with a .264 average, 21 home runs and 53 RBIs. His homer Sunday that stretched the streak to seven came in the first inning against Philadelphia.Toronto had won five in a row before Sunday's loss, so the Blue Jays will try to start another winning streak. They've done well against the Orioles this season, winning 12 of 13 games versus Baltimore.In fact, the Blue Jays took all 10 games they played against the Orioles in Toronto this season.The Blue Jays (60-70) will start Sam Gaviglio (3-6, 4.94 ERA) while Baltimore counters with David Hess (2-8, 5.50). Gaviglio's last start came versus Baltimore, when he picked up the win after allowing two runs in seven innings in Toronto's 7-2 victory Tuesday. He is 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA in two starts versus the Orioles.Hess is 0-1 and has a 1.38 ERA in two starts against the Blue Jays after allowing one run in seven innings of a 6-0 loss at Toronto on Wednesday. He has been pitching better lately for a Baltimore team that's been having problems everywhere.The Orioles (37-94) come into the series having dropped eight straight games after the Yankees completed a four-game sweep with a 5-3 victory Sunday night.They also lost rookie center fielder Cedric Mullins with a hip injury. He did not play Sunday. Manager Buck Showalter told the media that Mullins suffered the injury during Saturday's doubleheader loss."He's not sure exactly which play," Showalter told the media. "He thought it was probably on a throw he made, kind of off-balance, awkward throw. Just didn't think it was in his best interest (to play Sunday). I don't want it to linger on." Mullins has a .309 average in 15 games since coming to the major leagues for the first time Aug. 10. That's when Showalter moved long-time center fielder Adam Jones to right field.In fact, Showalter kept Jones in right field with Mullins out Sunday because he wants the veteran to get as used to that position as much as possible. The skipper used Craig Gentry in center field in place of Mullins on Sunday.The Orioles are hoping the Mullins' injury won't be one that keeps him out for a long stretch as he's already become a solid lead-off hitter.
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