O's game blog: Matt Harvey faces Toronto at Camden Yards

Spenser Watkins picked up a win in his first major league start and the Orioles beat Toronto 7-5 last night to open a three-game series and six-game homestand. The Orioles got two-run homers from Pedro Severino, Anthony Santander and Cedric Mullins in the win.

Mullins' homer was his 16th and gave him the team lead by one over Trey Mancini and by two over Ryan Mountcastle. Over his last seven games, Mullins is batting .379 (11-for-29) with a double, three homers and six RBIs. Mullins has now hit seven homers in his last 17 games and 10 in his last 27.

Santander's two-run blast in the fifth was hit 431 feet onto Eutaw Street. It was the 109th ball hit there since Oriole Park opened and the 50th hit by an Oriole. It was the second this year hit by an Oriole to Eutaw Street. Mullins did it earlier, and it was Santander's fourth career Eutaw Street blast.

The Orioles offense has put up some runs recently. They have scored 47 runs the last seven games (6.7 per game), hitting 13 doubles and 13 home runs in that span. As a team, the club has hit .277/.354/.486/.840 the past seven games.

Watkins went five innings, allowing three hits and one run on 89 pitches. The Orioles had gone eight straight games without getting even a five-inning start until Watkins' outing on Tuesday night. Watkins broke a streak of 24 straight games without an O's starter getting a win, the most in club history, per STATS. They had a 23-game streak back in May.

The Orioles (28-57) improved to 13-26 at home last night, and to 11-23 versus American League East teams. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games.

Toronto (43-40) had won seven of its last nine division games until Tuesday's loss. The Blue Jays are 19-20 against the division. Overall they have won five of their last nine, 10 of 15 and are 13-12 their past 25 games.

Right-hander Matt Harvey (3-9, 7.34 ERA) will make his 18th start. The Orioles have won his last two outings and he's allowed 10 hits and five runs in 10 innings in those two games, against Toronto and Houston. The Orioles are 7-10 in his starts for the season.

In two starts this year versus Toronto, Harvey is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA, allowing seven runs in 10 innings. In his outings this year against AL East opponents, Harvey is 1-4 with a 5.74 ERA. In his career against the division, over 14 games, he is 3-4 with a 3.20 ERA, with 18 walks and 70 strikeouts in 76 innings.

Lefty Hyun Jin Ryu (7-5, 3.65 ERA) will make his 17th start tonight for the Blue Jays. On June 20 and 26 he pitched against the Orioles, going 2-0 with a 3.29 ERA, allowing five runs and 10 hits over 13 2/3 innings with three walks and seven strikeouts. Toronto is 9-7 in his starts this year, but has lost four of the last six.

Ryu finished second for the Cy Young Award in 2019 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and in 2020 for the Blue Jays.

Since the 2018 season, over 72 starts, he is 33-15 with a 2.60 ERA and 1.062 WHIP. That is outstanding pitching, and his ERA plus of 161 is 61 percent ahead of the league in that span.

Toronto hit three home runs last night. With 16, the Blue Jays lead the majors in most games with three or more home runs. San Francisco and Minnesota are next with 15 each.

The Blue Jays have now hit an major league-high 127 home runs this season, one more than San Francisco. The 127 homers are the second-most through 83 games in team history (139 in 2000). The Jays also lead the big leagues in slugging (.453) while ranked 2nd in OPS (.781), 3rd in hits (752), 4th in runs (428) and 5th in OBP (.328).

Last night's game was the eighth time this season the Orioles have had at least three home runs, and their sixth time doing so at home. Three of the eight games have come against Toronto, all at Oriole Park, and their 15 total homers against the Blue Jays (in eight games) are their most against an opponent this season.

The Orioles as a team are batting .275 against left-handed pitching, the second-highest average in the majors. Their .443 slugging percentage and .772 OPS both rank as the third-highest against lefties.