Baltimore @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Jul 26, 2010 ) Baltimore 5, Toronto 9
Ten games against the Baltimore Orioles, 10 wins for the Toronto Blue Jays so far in 2010.
The stage is set for the Blue Jays to make it 11-for-11 Tuesday night, with the team's biggest Oriole-killer taking the mound.
Ricky Romero looks for his eighth win of the season as the Blue Jays resume their three-game series with the visiting Orioles at the Rogers Centre. Toronto broke out to a 7-0 lead in Monday's curtain raiser and cruised from there en route to a 9-5 victory.
The Blue Jays have been unstoppable against Baltimore this season, winning all 10 meetings while outscoring the woeful Orioles, 57-21, along the way. Toronto has been especially unrelenting at home, having beaten Baltimore in 18 of their last 20 meetings at the Rogers Centre.
Jose Bautista was the catalyst Monday night, belting a three-run homer to give him a league-best 28 round-trippers on the season. Bautista has punished Orioles pitching so far this year with four home runs – the most against any team – and 10 RBIs in just 10 games.
Baltimore is matched up against an even tougher foe Tuesday in Romero (7-7). The second-year left-hander is 2-0 against the Orioles in 2010, and has allowed just three runs – one earned – over 16 strong innings. He tossed a complete game in a May 30 appearance and was just as effective 11 days ago, scattering five hits over seven innings in a 4-2 victory.
Romero pitched well in his previous outing, allowing three runs on seven hits over seven innings. The Blue Jays couldn't muster much offense and fell 5-2 to the Detroit Tigers, sending Romero to his fifth loss in the past six games.
He'll be opposed by veteran right-hander Kevin Millwood (2-9), who has been the poster child for yet another horrid season in Maryland. His ERA of 5.84 is the worst of his career, and opponents are hitting a robust .306 off him.
Millwood has a 2-6 record all-time against Toronto, with a 4.91 ERA over 66 innings. He was dealt a loss in their last meeting after allowing five runs over six innings in a 5-0 defeat on May 28.
A Millwood loss would leave the Orioles with the only three active 10-loss pitchers in the American League. The 35-year-old would join teammates Brian Matusz (3-11) and Jeremy Guthrie (4-10) in the dubious category. Joe Saunders (6-10) was dealt to Arizona by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over the weekend.
Matt Wieters will look to build off the first multi-homer game of his career. The second-year catcher was the lone bright spot in Monday's loss, going deep twice and finishing with three RBIs. The homers were his first since June 22.