O's score nine runs in seventh and eighth to beat Toronto
For the second night in a row, the Toronto Blue Jays hit second-inning homers to put the O's behind early. But for the second night in a row, the Orioles rallied to win at Rogers Centre.
Down 3-0 after two innings and 3-2 going to the top of the seventh, the Orioles offense erupted for five runs in the seventh and four in the eighth as they routed Toronto 11-4 tonight.
This is the first time the Orioles have scored 10 or more runs in back-to-back games since Aug. 14-15, 2008 at Cleveland and Detroit.
The win gives the O's a winning road trip at 4-3 and they head home with an 11-10 record. It's the O's first winning road trip since last July 19-25.
Tonight's game ends a stretch where the Orioles played 15 straight games against the American League East. The O's went 9-6 in that stretch and 3-1-1 in the five series against New York, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Boston and Toronto.
Nelson Cruz delivered a two-run single in the eighth tonight to extend his RBI streak to seven games. The last Oriole to drive in a run for seven consecutive games was Mark Reynolds from Sept. 15-22, 2012.
In this series, Cruz went 6-for-13 with three homers and 10 RBIs. He has five multi-RBI games in the last seven games and has knocked in 16 runs in that stretch.
The O's rally in the seventh came against Blue Jays relievers Neil Wagner and Brett Cecil. A former University of Maryland pitcher, Cecil had pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings this season with 15 strikeouts. But tonight, all four batters he faced reached and he allowed four runs.
With the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, Cecil got ahead 0-2 against Chris Davis. But Davis singled to left to score two runs for a 4-3 lead. Adam Jones followed with a booming RBI double to center and then Matt Wieters looped a two-run single to left to conclude the scoring in a five-run, four-hit inning.
Before too long, the O's added four more in the eighth. That inning included two-run singles by Cruz and Jones.
That's 21 runs the last two games by the Orioles after they scored just three Tuesday in losing the first game of the Toronto series.
On the mound, Bud Norris gave up two homers and three runs in the second, but no runs after that. Over six innings, he allowed five hits and three runs with one walk and four strikeouts.
Norris got a quality start, ending the O's seven-game streak without one. He also picked up his first win since Sept. 2. Norris is now 1-2 with an ERA of 4.44.
So the Orioles end the road trip winning three of their last four and now head home. The O's begin a five-game homestand Friday night at Camden Yards by hosting the Kansas City Royals.
Nelson Cruz delivered a two-run single in the eighth tonight to extend his RBI streak to seven games. The last Oriole to drive in a run for seven consecutive games was Mark Reynolds from Sept. 15-22, 2012.
In this series, Cruz went 6-for-13 with three homers and 10 RBIs. He has five multi-RBI games in the last seven games and has knocked in 16 runs in that stretch.
The O's rally in the seventh came against Blue Jays relievers Neil Wagner and Brett Cecil. A former University of Maryland pitcher, Cecil had pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings this season with 15 strikeouts. But tonight, all four batters he faced reached and he allowed four runs.
With the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, Cecil got ahead 0-2 against Chris Davis. But Davis singled to left to score two runs for a 4-3 lead. Adam Jones followed with a booming RBI double to center and then Matt Wieters looped a two-run single to left to conclude the scoring in a five-run, four-hit inning.
Before too long, the O's added four more in the eighth. That inning included two-run singles by Cruz and Jones.
That's 21 runs the last two games by the Orioles after they scored just three Tuesday in losing the first game of the Toronto series.
On the mound, Bud Norris gave up two homers and three runs in the second, but no runs after that. Over six innings, he allowed five hits and three runs with one walk and four strikeouts.
Norris got a quality start, ending the O's seven-game streak without one. He also picked up his first win since Sept. 2. Norris is now 1-2 with an ERA of 4.44.
So the Orioles end the road trip winning three of their last four and now head home. The O's begin a five-game homestand Friday night at Camden Yards by hosting the Kansas City Royals.
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