Toronto 4, Baltimore 0
When: 7:07 PM ET, Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Temperature:
70°
Umpires:
Home -
Quinn Wolcott, 1B -
Chad Whitson, 2B -
Ted Barrett, 3B -
Angel Hernandez
Attendance:
38847
By The Sports Xchange
TORONTO -- Marcus Stroman threw a career-high 119 pitches in 7 2/3 innings on Wednesday night but contended that he could have gone longer.
Stroman was around long enough to help the Blue Jays win for just the second time in six games, shutting down the Baltimore Orioles 4-0.
"I worked extremely hard between starts to put my body in a position where I'm able to go deep in games and maintain velocity," said Stroman, who avoided a third straight loss. "I credit that to the work everyone puts in: the training staff, the strength and conditioning staff here has been unbelievable, so my body feels great.
"I felt like I could've gone another inning or two. I feel great where I'm at right now."
Jose Bautista and Justin Smoak hit solo home runs off Orioles starter Wade Miley as the Blue Jays (37-40) improved to 3-8 against the Orioles (38-39) this season.
Baltimore saw its three-game win streak end. The rubber match between the American League East opponents is Thursday night.
Stroman (8-4) struck out eight while walking just one and allowing five hits. The 26-year-old right-hander entered the game 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA in his past three starts against Baltimore. He has now pitched at least seven innings in a team-leading six games this season.
"He was good, he was really good. I thought he got stronger as the game went on against a dangerous team," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "It's tough to shut down their hitters, and we needed that, we needed that desperately."
Orioles manager Buck Showalter added, "He was really good, he was the difference."
Danny Barnes got the last out in the eighth, and Roberto Osuna struck out the side in the ninth.
Bautista got the Blue Jays on the board in the bottom of the first inning, taking Miley's 0-1 offering over the wall in right field for his 14th homer of the season. It was the first leadoff home run by a Toronto player this year and the ninth of Bautista's career.
Toronto added to its lead in the fourth inning.
Smoak got things started by taking Miley's two-seam fastball over the wall in center field for his career-high 21st home run. The homers hit by Smoak are the most by any switch hitter before the All-Star break since Mark Teixeira hit 22 in 2015.
"I've had a great first half, but it's not about how you start, it's how you finish," he said. "But it's an honor to be with those names and just got to keep it going.
"You always want to beat career highs, and I was able to do that tonight."
After Kevin Pillar singled to load the bases, Baltimore shortstop Paul Janish mishandled a sharply hit ball by Bautista, allowing two runners to score and giving the Blue Jays a 4-0 lead.
Miley (3-6) went five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) and six hits while striking out five and walking three.
"What did me in was falling behind guys right out of the gate," said Miley, who entered with a 1-1 record and a 2.08 ERA in two starts against Toronto this season. "I think I was 8-for-24 on first pitch strikes. That's not going to cut it at this level.
"I've got to figure something out. I've got to figure out how to get the fastball back over the plate. I really didn't have it at all tonight."
NOTES: The Blue Jays signed two 2017 first-round picks, SS Logan Warmoth and RHP Nate Pearson. Both were on hand for batting practice. ... Orioles 1B Trey Mancini extended his hit streak to eight games -- one game shy of his season high -- with his two-out single in the second inning. He finished 2-for-4. ... Toronto signed OF Michael Saunders to a minor league contract. The 30-year-old, who spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the Blue Jays, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in January but was released June 23 after hitting .205 with six home runs in 61 games. ... The announced attendance at the Rogers Centre was 38,447.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Baltimore
|
5 |
0 |
5 |
.161 |
9 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
| Toronto
|
7 |
2 |
13 |
.241 |
16 |
8 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
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