Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – Edwin Encarnacion bashed two home runs in
the Toronto Blue Jays’ 13-6 rout of the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.
Encarnacion’s first blast started a six-run second inning for Toronto as the
Blue Jays hammered Bud Norris for the second time already in 2015. Jose
Bautista also homered, and Ryan Goins drove in three runs.
Norris (0-2) continued to struggle in the early going, this time getting
charged with nine runs in 2 1/3 innings. In Baltimore’s home opener on April
10, Norris allowed nine runs in three-plus innings.
“They made a lot of good swings on every mistake he made,” said Orioles
manager Buck Showalter. “Command has been an issue for him.”
Mark Buehrle (3-0) allowed three runs in six innings. He also beat Norris in
his first start of the season.
After each pitcher dealt a 1-2-3 first inning, the game quickly unraveled for
Norris in the second. After Encarnacion’s home run, Toronto loaded the bases
and Goins singled to right field to score two runs.
Jose Reyes, making his return to the lineup after missing a weekend series
against Atlanta with a broken rib, picked up an RBI when Everth Cabrera could
not throw out a runner at home on Reyes’ ground ball. Poor defense then cost
the Orioles again, this time when Caleb Joseph’s throw to catch Reyes stealing
second bounced into the outfield to allow Goins to score. Josh Donaldson’s RBI
double capped the big inning.
Baltimore got a couple runs back in the third on an RBI double from Ryan
Flaherty and run-scoring groundout by Steve Pearce before Norris got in
further trouble in the bottom of the third. Pillar’s two-run single sent
Norris to an early exit, and Goins’ run-scoring single greeted reliever Brian
Matusz.
Reyes added a sac fly in the fifth and Encarnacion’s second homer of the game
answered an Orioles run in the top of the sixth, and the game got heated in
the seventh.
With Donaldson on second base, Orioles reliever Jason Garcia uncorked a
wild pitch behind Bautista. After staring down Garcia, Bautista hit a
home run to left-center field. He stared at his hit, flipped his bat and took
a slow stroll around the bases. When he headed out to right field to start the
following inning, he exchanged heated words with Orioles center fielder Adam
Jones.
“There’s a right and wrong way to play this game, and that’s not the right
way,” said Flaherty. “It’s just sad that’s the way he chooses to play the
game.”
Baltimore added two runs in the eighth to make the game a bit more
respectable.
Game Notes
Toronto has scored 37 runs in Buehrle’s three starts in 2015 … Reyes, a
switch-hitter, was not batting left-handed due to his injury … Blue Jays
second baseman Devon Travis sat out with rib soreness after being hit by a
pitch on Sunday … Donaldson and Dioner Navarro had three hits each for
Toronto … The Orioles had four batters record multi-hit games, but Flaherty
lost his streak of three straight games with multiple hits.
