Franco going on injured list with ankle sprain

Maikel Franco took ground balls at third base earlier today, experienced the same discomfort that's hounded him since the final out in Houston and is headed to the 10-day injured list.

Franco was scratched from last night's lineup with recurring soreness. He's batting .221/.265/.376 with 18 doubles, nine home runs and 42 RBIs in 77 games.

The bat finally began to heat up, with Franco going 7-for-13 with two doubles and four RBIs in his last three games.

The injury occurred last Wednesday night as he chased a fly ball in foul territory and slipped while trying to avoid a collision with left fielder Ryan McKenna, who made the catch to seal the win.

The Orioles are recalling infielder Kelvin Gutierrez from Triple-A Norfolk. They acquired him from the Royals on Saturday for cash considerations and optioned him to the Tides.

Gutierrez, 26, has hit .226/.275/.309 in 62 games with Kansas City over the last three seasons. Most of his infield experience is at third base, but he's also played first base and shortstop as a professional.

The Royals traded Gutierrez after he slashed .215/.254/.296 this year in 142 plate appearances. He had four doubles, two triples and a home run.

The Nationals signed Gutierrez out of the Dominican Republic as an international free agent in 2013 and moved him from shortstop to third base. Baseball America ranked him as having the best infield arm in Washington's system in 2017. MLBPipeline.com rated him as the No. 12 prospect in the organization that year.

The Royals acquired him on June 18, 2018 for reliever Kelvin Herrera.

Gutierrez made his Norfolk debut last night and went 0-for-4. He gives the Orioles another option at third base besides Domingo Leyba, Pat Valaika and Ramón Urías.

The Orioles haven't posted their lineup.

Cedric Mullins has homered in back-to-back games. His eight career homers against the Blue Jays are his most versus any opponent.

Last night's ball left Mullins' bat at 97.8 mph, the second-softest-hit home run of his career.

Urías has multiple hits in three straight games, the longest streak of his career and tied for the longest by an Orioles player this season.

Two of Pedro Severino's four home runs this season have come against the Blue Jays.

Matt Harvey is facing the Blue Jays for the third time in four starts. He's allowed seven runs and 15 hits in 10 innings. George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered in Buffalo.

Spenser Watkins did more last night than earn his first major league win. He broke a streak of 24 consecutive games without a win from an Orioles starter, the longest in club history, per STATS.

Orioles starters also built a 23-game streak in May that tied the 2019 team's stretch. The 1955 and 1988 rotations went 21 games in a row without a victory.

Left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu also is facing the Orioles for the third time in four starts. He's allowed five runs and 10 hits in 13 2/3 innings. Trey Mancini homered in Baltimore.

Guerrero has hit five of his 28 home runs against the Orioles, tied with the Rays for the most versus any opponent.

Randal Grichuck hit his 21st career home run against the Orioles last night.

Batting practice was canceled due to rain.

For the Blue Jays
Marcus Semien 2B
Bo Bichette SS
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B
George Springer CF
Teoscar Hernández RF
Randal Grichuk DH
Cavan Biggio 3B
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. LF
Danny Jansen C

Hyun Jin Ryu LHP