Orioles can't overcome early deficit in 5-2 loss (updated)

Aaron Brooks began to hop off the mound at least twice tonight in the bottom of the first inning, thinking he caught the outside corner for a third strike and shifting his momentum toward the dugout.

Plate umpire Jeremie Rehak wouldn't let him leave.

The Blue Jays wouldn't let him get away unscathed.

Brooks hopped and the Jays jumped him, scoring twice and never trailing in a 5-2 victory over the Orioles before an announced "Stranger Things" crowd of 16,331 at Camden Yards.

Also strange was Brooks throwing 30 pitches in the first inning and only 10 in the second while retiring the side in order. He came out after Justin Smoak's leadoff walk in the sixth, with three runs and five hits against him.

Gabriel Ynoa got a double play and served up a home run to Brandon Drury, and the Orioles fell to 36-73 overall and 15-38 at home.

Chris Davis delivered a two-run shot off Sam Gaviglio in the seventh and became the fastest Orioles player to 250 home runs by doing it in 1,110 games. Eddie Murray is second with 1,323. Adam Jones is next on the home run list with 263 and Brooks Robinson hit 268.

Davis belted a tiebreaking home run Tuesday in San Diego and had two hits last night.

Brooks retired the first two batters in the first inning on fly balls to left fielder Jace Peterson. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled and scored on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s single - the rookie's 17th RBI in the last six games - and Freddy Galvis followed Smoak's walk with a run-scoring single.

The Orioles used to outscore their opponents in the first inning, but not anymore. It's now 73-67 against them.

Galvis led off the fourth inning by homering onto the flag court in right for a 3-0 lead. Brooks struck out the last two batters, his 92 mph fastball to Danny Jansen catching the outside corner.

The Orioles have surrendered at least two home runs in seven straight games.

Brooks didn't get another call with two outs in the fifth inning, Bo Bichette on second base and a 1-2 count on Guerrero. He took a couple steps toward the dugout, spun around in anger and composed himself as Rehak stared at him. The next pitch induced a ground ball and kept the deficit at three runs.

A few return throws from catcher Pedro Severino tonight were snatched by Brooks with an angry swipe of the glove.

Brooks was 0-3 with a 24.55 ERA and 3.273 WHIP in three career starts against the Jays before tonight. He's now allowed 23 runs in 12 1/3 innings.

The Jays used Wilmer Font as their opener tonight and he allowed only an Anthony Santander single in two scoreless innings. Nick Kingham tossed three scoreless innings with two hits allowed.

Richie Martin had infield hits in the third and fifth innings, giving him 14 this season. He moved to second base in the fifth on Guerrero's throwing error, but Jonathan Villar grounded out.

Santander and Martin had the only hits with two each until Severino led off the seventh by dumping a single into left field, barely out of the reach of Bichette. Davis reached the flag court to slice the deficit in half.

The Orioles wasted Santander's leadoff walk in the eighth. He reached second base on Derek Law's wild pitch.

Mychal Givens retired the side in order in the eighth after being scored upon in his last three outings. But Paul Fry's scoreless streak ended at seven on Derek Fisher's RBI single in the ninth.

Hanser Alberto pinch-hit for Martin in the ninth after Davis' one-out walk and flied out. Villar walked, but Trey Mancini grounded out with runners on the corners.

Hyde on whether Brooks wasn't getting calls: "There were some close calls in the first inning he didn't get and they scored a couple runs. But I thought he battled. He didn't have his best stuff tonight, didn't feel great and went into the sixth inning for us. He kept us in the game. The bottom line is we didn't score any runs. We didn't take really good at-bats, especially in the first half of the game. A lot of quick innings. They threw the ball well, but we didn't do much offensively."

Hyde on whether challenging to face opener: "We've seen everybody they threw at us before. It's not like it's somebody new. We just saw Kingham a couple weeks ago in Toronto. That's not an excuse for not squaring any balls up. We just didn't swing the bat very well.

"It's disappointing because I thought on the road trip we played really well. Really competed at the plate and played some great games and really swung the bat well and when we come home, for two nights we were pretty empty offensively."

Hyde on missing energy of Alberto and Stevie Wilkerson: "Yeah, both those guys give you great effort and a lot of energy, but they haven't played before. I'm disappointed. I thought we swung the bat really well on the road and over the last month. We just haven't squared many balls up."

Hyde on Wilkerson: "He was available in an emergency today so he should be OK tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'm going to start him or not. Probably give him another day of rest but we'll see. He's sore but OK."

Hyde on Martin's bunting: "He works hard on his bunting. He bunts all the time early and I think he's getting quite a few hits from it. That was a really nice bunt today and it makes things happen. Obviously a plus runner who can make things happen with his legs, so continuing to improve in his bunting game."

Brooks on whether getting squeezed: "I haven't looked at it at all or anything. I just look at it in heat of the moment. Most of us want most pitches and I've got to do a better job I think of just not showing any emotion, just try to move on to the next pitch. But some of those pitches can be big, so I just kind of let my emotions get the best of me."

Brooks on how he became more effective later: "Just better pitches. Getting out there in the first I just tried to get my feet underneath me and get my mechanics going. They're trying to see pitches. They're a young, talented group and they came out aggressive, so that wasn't how it went, but I was glad I was able to keep the team in striking distance and get through some innings."

Davis on whether he finds significance in 250: "I do. And honestly I didn't even know I was anywhere close to that. I've got another marker I'm kind of eyeing, but that's personal. Any kind of record you can tie or break, especially here, it means a lot and for me, I feel like it's been such a fun ride. It's been a little bit up and down lately, but looking back, it's been a lot of fun over the years to play here and wear this uniform and to get to know some of the guys that played here before me and get to know a little bit more of the history. So anytime I can be a part of that, it's special."

Davis on what he'd like to accomplish rest of season: "I'd like to win. Especially coming off the month that we just had, the road trip that we just had. I felt like we were really trending in the right direction. Obviously the last couple nights have been tough, but I want to see this group succeed after everything that we've been through this year. All the things that we've accomplished, everything we've learned and are starting to put into play. I'd just like to see this group win and that's really where my focus is. Personally I'm just trying to keep going, trying to finish up strong and do whatever I can to build some momentum and take it into next year."

Davis on whether significant to get to 300: "There's a part of me that wants to do it this year, but at the same time I know that I have a few years left on this contract. I don't know, I just want to continue to keep going and keep having good at-bats, keep having productive nights at the plate and try to win as much as we can."