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Game 76: Orioles (42-33) @ Blue Jays (37-36), 1:07

Nothing could ever be so encouraging as seeing the homer-happy Freddy Garcia pitching in Toronto.

Duane Burleson

Presented with the chance to stop the Blue Jays from climbing up the standings further, the Orioles have completely failed. One game saw the starter pitch not so great, but the bullpen blew the game in the end. The other saw the starter pitch well and the bullpen still blew the game in the end.

Perhaps today they will break out of that pattern. The bad news is that it's Freddy Garcia pitching, so if anything breaks the pattern it'll probably just be that Freddy pitches poorly, there is no offense today, and the Orioles go down in flames, because for some reason bad losses just happen in Toronto. Seriously, though, Maicer Izturis and Munenori Kawasaki? It'd be one thing if it was the players who are playing well, but getting burned by light-hitting infielders is something else entirely.

Josh Johnson is the Toronto pitcher, which means that you have readily-available dick jokes for the third straight game. I can assure you that nearly every single person will be making said jokes, so be original, seriously.

Will Matt Wieters ever get on base again? Will Chris Davis hit another home run today? Will Davis put together the kind of day that manages to improve on his .723 slugging percentage? That would really be something, and it still might not be enough, because Garcia has allowed 15 home runs in 50.2 IP. That's a Matusz-like 2.66 HR/9. That's awful. He could halve that rate and it would still not be good. And of course, this Toronto team likes hitting home runs at home. Everyone likes hitting home runs in Toronto.

When trying to avoid a sweep in a series finale, the Orioles have a 1-2 record. Seriously, O's, time to stop messing around. End this Toronto winning streak and get the heck out of the country.


BALTIMORE ORIOLES TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Nate McLouth - LF Melky Cabrera - LF
Manny Machado - 3B Jose Bautista - RF
Nick Markakis - RF Edwin Encarnacion - DH
Adam Jones - CF Adam Lind - 1B
Chris Davis - 1B Colby Rasmus - CF
Matt Wieters - C J.P. Arencibia - C
J.J. Hardy - SS Maicer Izturis - 3B
Chris Dickerson - DH Emilio Bonifacio - 2B
Ryan Flaherty - 2B Munesori Kawasaki - SS