The Toronto Blue Jays have suddenly fallen into a rut.
And while they took one of Baltimore’s players in a trade this week, they haven’t been able to beat the Orioles.
The teams face off again Wednesday afternoon in the finale of a four-game series.
The Blue Jays have dropped four consecutive games after going 8-1 in their first nine games following the All-Star break. The American League East leaders will try to avoid a five-game skid, something they have endured just once this season, back in April.
Baltimore swept a day-night doubleheader 16-4 and 3-2 on Tuesday after winning 11-4 on Monday night.
“Three wins against a really good team in the Blue Jays, yeah, it was fun to be a part of,” Orioles first baseman Ryan O’Hearn said.
Wednesday will be reliever Seranthony Dominguez’s first full day as a member of the Blue Jays after he was traded from Baltimore between games of the doubleheader. The Orioles will miss him for several reasons after they watched him deal a shutout inning for the opposing team in the nightcap.
“He’s an incredible dude,” Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “It’s a leader amongst the Latin players, the American players. A really, really smart, intelligent baseball person. … Toronto, they struck gold on him. We’re going to really miss him.”
Dominguez said he’s “happy to be on a team that’s really good.”
Adding Dominguez resulted in reliever Chad Green being designated for assignment. The Blue Jays might be bracing for more moves the next couple of days.
“Everyone understands the business part of the game,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.
The Wednesday game will end Toronto’s eight-game road trip, which began with three wins in four contests against the American League Central-leading Detroit Tigers.
Schneider said the Blue Jays won’t have George Springer available Wednesday as the designated hitter tries to shake off being hit on the helmet by a pitch Monday night. It’s uncertain if Springer will go on the injury list, according to the manager.
Right-hander Jose Berrios (7-4, 3.83 ERA) will make his sixth start of the month for the Blue Jays. He won his past two outings, triumphs over the San Francisco Giants and Detroit, despite surrendering six runs across a total of 11 2/3 innings.
On Opening Day vs. Baltimore, he took a loss by giving up six runs in five innings at home, then had a no-decision against the Orioles on April 13, when he allowed four runs in a five-inning outing. The Orioles homered five times off him in those games, two by Tyler O’Neill and one apiece by Cedric Mullins, Adley Rutschman and rehabbing Ryan Mountcastle.
Berrios is 10-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 18 career starts against Baltimore.
The Orioles will have Dean Kremer (8-7, 4.23 ERA) on the mound. The right-hander has only two decisions in his last six starts, but both of them were victories. He won his season debut against the Blue Jays despite giving up five runs in 5 1/3 innings on March 29.
Kremer is 4-4 with a 5.14 ERA in 12 career matchups (11 starts) vs. Toronto.
In addition to the Dominguez trade that brought back minor league right-hander Juaron Watts-Brown, the Orioles made several other moves on Tuesday. Right-handed reliever Colin Selby (hamstring) went on the 15-day injured list, while righty relievers Elvin Rodriguez and Houston Roth were summoned from Double-A Chesapeake prior to the nightcap.
–Field Level Media
