O's game blog: The final series begins

The Orioles begin the final series of the 2020 season tonight when they play at Buffalo's Sahlen Field against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles (24-33) could finish 27-33 and would be playing .450 ball for the year if they sweep this series, but they are just 1-6 on the season against Toronto.

The Blue Jays (30-27) beat the New York Yankees 4-1 last night to clinch their first playoff berth since 2016. They are two games behind New York for second place in the American League East and a higher seeding in the AL playoffs, which begin Tuesday. As of today, Toronto is the No. 8 seed and would meet No. 1 seed Tampa Bay in a best-of-three first-round series.

While the Orioles got off to a fast start in 2020 and were 12-8 at one point, Toronto was 7-11 to start. But they then swept a three-game series in Baltimore to start a six-game win streak that turned around their year. The Blue Jays are 15-8 at home and 20-17 versus AL East teams. They recently lost six in a row, but ended that stretch Sunday and are 4-1 since. They just took three of four from the Yankees.

The Orioles were 0-6 against Toronto this year until beating them 4-3 in 11 innings Aug. 31 to avoid being swept four in a row at Buffalo. Of the seven games these teams have played, four were decided by one run and the Orioles are 1-3 in those games.

The Birds beat Boston 13-1 last night to avoid a three-game sweep as they led 6-0 in the fourth inning and 8-0 after the top of the fifth. They had 18 hits as five players had multi-hit games and four drove in more than one run. Batting in the final three spots in the order, Rio Ruiz, Ramón Urías and Cedric Mullins went 7-for-13 with five doubles, five runs and six RBIs.

Last night was the fifth time this season the Orioles have scored 10 or more runs. And their 13 runs scored marked their highest run total at Fenway Park since Aug. 25, 2017 in a 16-3 win.

The Orioles improved to 23-11 when they score four or more runs. Last night was a nice reversal of form after the Orioles had scored one run or less in nine of the previous 14 games.

The Orioles are 13-24 versus the AL East, going 5-5 against Boston, 4-6 versus Tampa Bay, 3-7 against New York and 1-6 versus Toronto.

Right-hander Jorge López (2-1, 5.11 ERA) will make his final start of the year. In his eight games as an Oriole, he is 2-1 with a 4.71 ERA. And in his five starts only with the club he is 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.207 WHIP. He has pitched 27 1/3 innings in those starts, allowing 25 hits with eight walks and 19 strikeouts.

López has put together strong games in his past two starts and they were against first-place teams in Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Over 13 innings, he gave up four runs and 13 hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.

In his only start versus Toronto, he allowed three runs and hits in 4 2/3 innings on Aug. 30 in Buffalo. He threw 63 pitches in that game.

Right-hander Taijuan Walker (4-3, 2.86 ERA) gets the start for Toronto. Since Toronto acquired him from Seattle for a player to be named later, he is 2-1 with a 1.54 ERA in five starts. In those games, he has given up one earned run or less four times and two earned runs in the other game. Over 23 1/3 innings, he has walked 11 and fanned 21. Walker made his Toronto debut Aug. 29 against the Orioles. Over six scoreless innings, he gave up four hits with three walks and four strikeouts on 92 pitches in a 5-0 win.

The Blue Jays' home ballpark for this season is Sahlen Field in Buffalo. They've called this park home since Aug. 11. According to ESPN Stats and Info, this year marks the first time that Buffalo has hosted regular season major league games since the Buffalo Buffeds/Blues of the short-lived Federal League called the city home from 1914-15.

Prior to the O's previous trip to Sahlen Field (Aug. 28-31), it had been nearly 105 years since a team from Baltimore last played a major league game in Buffalo. On Sept. 8, 1915, the Baltimore Terrapins were swept in a doubleheader by the Buffalo Blues at Federal League Park. The games of that day were the last major league games played in Buffalo prior to 2020.