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Blue Jays host red-hot Orioles Thursday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 6/9/2016  at  10:41:00 AM
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BALTIMORE ORIOLES (35-23)

at TORONTO BLUE JAYS (32-29)

First pitch: Thursday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

The Orioles will be looking to win their fifth straight game when they face the Blue Jays on Thursday.

Baltimore is scorching hot right now and the team has now won four straight games. Baltimore is coming off of a sweep over Kansas City and allowed just two earned runs in the entire three-game set. It’s also worth noting that three of the Orioles’ past four games have gone UNDER the total, but that has a lot to do with the way the team is pitching. The Jays, meanwhile, have now lost three of their past five games. They are, however, coming off of a 7-2 victory in the final contest of a three-game set versus the Tigers. The Orioles and Blue Jays have met three times this season and the Orioles were victorious in two of those games. They are, however, just 8-10 against the Blue Jays in Toronto over the past three seasons. On the mound for Baltimore in this one will be RHP Tyler Wilson (2-5, 4.39 ERA, 27 K) and he’ll be going up against RHP Marcus Stroman (5-2, 4.82 ERA, 55 K) for Toronto. One thing worth pointing out is that the Orioles are 12-3 against the money line after two straight games where the bullpen gave up no runs this season. They do, however, face a Toronto team that is 9-2 against the money line with an on base percentage of .285 or worse over the past five games this season.

The Orioles are playing very well right now, but they will need a good start from Tyler Wilson in order to keep their winning streak going on Thursday. Wilson has really struggled his past few times out, allowing three or more earned runs in four consecutive outings. In his most recent appearance, Wilson allowed five earned runs on seven hits in just four innings of work. Baltimore needs him to start working deeper into games and he needs to do a better job of keeping the ball out of play. Offensively, one guy that will be looking forward to this one is OF Adam Jones (.239, 9 HR, 32 RBI). Jones has really had an awful season for Baltimore, but he is 3-for-6 with an RBI against Stroman in his career. He has had his number in their limited action against one another and it’d be big if he can produce at the plate on Thursday. Another guy that needs to be monitored is OF Mark Trumbo (.294, 20 HR, 48 RBI), as he has been incredible for the Orioles this season. Trumbo has five homers over the past seven games and is always a threat to go yard. It’d be big if he can provide some power for Baltimore in this one.

The Blue Jays were excited to have a healthy Marcus Stroman back this season, but he has been awful for them lately. Over his past two starts, Stroman has allowed 13 earned runs on 20 hits in just 11 innings of work. He has walked six batters over the past two games and will need to get his control back moving forward. One thing that does bode well for Stroman is that he pitched well against the Orioles in his last meeting with them. Stroman faced Baltimore on Apr. 19 and allowed just three earned runs in seven innings of work. Toronto would certainly sign up for another performance like that in this one. Offensively, the Blue Jays will be counting on 3B Josh Donaldson (.255, 14 HR, 33 RBI) to provide a spark. Donaldson has underperformed this season, but he is coming off of a big game against the Tigers. He went 3-for-4 with a single, a triple and a homer on Wednesday and should be feeling very confident coming into this one. DH Edwin Encarnacion (.237, 12 HR, 46 RBI) is somebody to keep an eye on this one. He is 0-for-10 over the past three games, but he is far too good of a hitter to keep playing so poorly. He should be able to get back on track in this one and it’d be bad news for Baltimore if he does.


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