Norris returns to rotation tonight, Davis tries to avoid club record

Orioles pitcher Bud Norris will make his first start tonight since Sept. 8 against the White Sox. He was skipped in the rotation because of a sore right elbow. Norris made one relief appearance, allowing a run in the 18th inning in Friday night's 5-4 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. In his last start, he surrendered four runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. Norris is 4-1 with a 4.50 ERA in eight starts with the Orioles, and is 2-1 with a 7.40 ERA in four starts at Camden Yards, with 17 earned runs in 20 2/3 innings. The Blue Jays are one of three teams that Norris has never faced, along with the Yankees and Twins. Jose Reyes is 5-for-13 against Norris. Manny Machado is 4-for-6 a double and home run against Jays right-hander Esmil Rogers, but he won't return to the lineup until 2014. Chris Davis is 3-for-7 with two doubles. Adam Jones is 3-for-8 with two doubles. Davis has 196 strikeouts, leaving him tied with Mark Reynolds (2011) for the Orioles' single-season record. Seven Orioles have appeared in 140 or more games this season, most in the majors: Davis, Jones, Machado, J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Nate McLouth and Matt Wieters. The Reds are second with six. That's the most by an Orioles team since they had seven in 1975: Lee May, Bobby Grich, Mark Belanger, Brooks Robinson, Don Baylor, Paul Blair and Ken Singleton.