Saturday afternoon Orioles game thread: at Blue Jays, 1:07

Having already won the first two games of their series in Toronto, the Orioles have a real opportunity to kick some dirt over the hole which the Blue Jays have dug for themselves. A Saturday afternoon contest where they try to do so awaits.

You may have noticed over the past couple of months that Dan Duquette has been acquiring pitchers with minor league options from anywhere and everywhere that he can get them. This has reached a new and frankly ridiculous level over the last week or so. One of the "veterans" of this series of acquisitions is Alec Asher, acquired all the way back on March 28, who has won the fifth starter spot (for now) and gets the call for today's game.

It's possible that Asher won the job because he was the only pitcher for Norfolk to have a good first start. Maybe he won it for other reasons. Hopefully he can carry whatever that was up to the big leagues. One thing that could be working in his favor is that today's Blue Jays starting lineup does not have a single player with an OPS+ above 100. Seven of their nine hitters are below league average and several are way, way below.

It's early. The sample sizes are small. A hot streak and all of that will change. Wade Miley did not prove to be the spark to start that hot streak for Jays hitters. Hopefully Asher isn't either.