Blue Jays Hit 3 HRs In 7-2 Win Over Orioles
BALTIMORE (AP) — Josh Donaldson hit a pivotal three-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays deftly recovered from a second-inning injury to starting pitcher Marcus Stroman in a 7-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night.
Kevin Pillar and Darwin Barney also homered for the last-place Blue Jays, who were in a 2-10 funk before winning two of three in a series that concludes Sunday.
Toronto was clinging to a two-run lead when Donaldson connected in the seventh off Richard Rodriguez, who was making his major league debut. Barney hit a two-run drive in the eighth to make it 7-0.
Seth Smith homered for the Orioles, who fell 3 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees for the top AL wild-card slot.
Stroman was struck on the right elbow by a line drive off the bat of Mark Trumbo and left the game. The injury was later diagnosed as a contusion, and X-rays were negative.
The right-hander gave up two hits and struck out three in 1 2/3 innings.
Stroman was replaced by Matt Dermody (2-0), who went 2 1/3 innings before Luis Santos allowed one run and two hits over 3 1/3 innings in his first big league game.
The Blue Jays played without manager John Gibbons, who left to tend to personal business, according to the team. Bench coach DeMarco Hale handled the job in his place.
Orioles starter Wade Miley (8-11) allowed a solo shot to Pillar in the fifth inning and a sacrifice fly to Kendrys Morales in the sixth. The left-hander is 1-3 against Toronto this season.
ROSTER MOVES
Blue Jays: Selected the contract of Santos from Triple-A Buffalo and designated RHP Nick Tepesch for assignment.
Orioles: OF Craig Gentry (fractured finger) was placed on the 10-day DL, and Baltimore recalled RHP Alec Asher and LHP Donnie Hart.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: 1B Justin Smoak (strained right calf) was back in the starting lineup for the first time since Tuesday. "We'll keep our eye on him," Hale said. "He's feeling pretty good, though."
Orioles: Manager Buck Showalter hoped Gentry could serve as a pinch runner while nursing his broken right middle finger, but the injury — which occurred Friday night — was too severe.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: LHP Brett Anderson (0-1, 1.59 ERA) makes his second start for Toronto in the series finale. He allowed a run over 5 2/3 innings against Boston on Tuesday, his first outing for an AL team since 2013.
Orioles: Chris Tillman (1-7, 7.91 ERA) seeks his first win in 17 starts since May 7. He's had four straight seasons with at least 10 victories, a streak that will end this year.
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