A few notes before tonight's game in Toronto

The Orioles will attempt to even their series against the Blue Jays tonight at Rogers Centre, where they've gone 8-12 in their last 20 games. Limiting the number of three-run homers surrendered would be a smart strategy. Before last night, the Orioles hadn't allowed nine runs or more in a game with all of them scoring on homers since Aug. 29, 2005 against the Athletics, according to Elias. The Orioles lost 10-5 in 12 innings, with Mark Ellis and Dan Johnson hitting three-run homers, and Jay Payton and Nick Swisher contributing two-run shots. Tightening the defense also would be a smart strategy. The Orioles are 9-5 when they don't commit an error, and 0-5 when they do. They've made five errors in the last four games after committing three in the first 15 games. The Orioles gave up six runs in the eighth inning last night after permitting seven in the eighth in their first 18 games. The six runs were the most allowed by the Orioles in the eighth since the Red Sox tallied eight on July 18, 2011. Nelson Cruz, batting second tonight as the designated hitter, has driven in at least one run in each of the last five games. The last Orioles player with at least one RBI in six consecutive games is Chris Davis from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, 2012. Doug DeCinces holds the club record with 11 straight games with an RBI from Sept. 22, 1978 to April 6, 1979. Didn't he replace a pretty good player at third base? Anyway, back to tonight's game. Blue Jays outfielder Colby Rasmus is 6-for-17 with two home runs lifetime against Chris Tillman, who starts tonight for the Orioles. Jose Bautista is 6-for-20 with two homers. Adam Jones is 4-for-8 against Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan. Tillman has made 11 career starts against the Blue Jays, going 3-4 with a 3.42 ERA in 71 innings. He's posted a 1.96 ERA over 23 1/3 innings in his last three starts, but is 0-2 because the Orioles have averaged 1.96 runs per game. Tillman is 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA lifetime at Rogers Centre. He threw a complete game in his last outing in Toronto, allowing four runs and six hits in eight innings in a 4-3 loss. Tillman has allowed at least one home run in each of his six starts at Rogers Centre. The Orioles are 7-0 when leading after seven innings this season and 0-8 when trailing after the seventh. They're 8-0 when leading after eight innings and 0-9 when trailing after the eighth. The Orioles are 8-5 when they score first.