Orioles complete first three-game sweep of 2018 (with quotes)

The Orioles had their hottest pitcher on the mound tonight and a chance to secure their first three-game sweep of the season. The opponent was sending out a rookie with only 12 starts in the majors and much better splits at home than on the road.

What could go wrong?

Stars that are aligned can scatter like a kindergarten class. But they also can be corralled, at least in baseball terms.

Alex Cobb served up three solo home runs in 5 2/3 innings and his streak of six consecutive quality starts snapped before the third. But Adam Jones hit a grand slam in the fifth, Austin Wynns' run-scoring single broke a tie in the sixth, Trey Mancini kept swinging a hot bat and the Orioles defeated the Blue Jays 10-5 before an announced crowd of 11,834 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles' only other sweep this season came in two games against the Mets at Citi Field back in early June. They're 40-94 overall, 24-44 at home and 4-12 against the Jays.

Their last three-game sweep was Aug. 28-30, 2017 against the Mariners in Baltimore. They tied the 1955 club for latest date to reach 40 wins.

Let's focus on Mancini here. He's homered in three of his last four games to raise his total to 20, and he had a double, triple and sacrifice fly last night.

Mancini has 10 hits in his last five games, and eight are for extra-bases. This guy really wants to be considered for Most Valuable Oriole.

He also must want to be taken seriously as a designated hitter because he's raking in the role.

Mancini's solo shot leading off the fourth inning reduced Toronto's lead to 4-1, and he singled with two outs in the fifth to load the bases against Blue Jays left-hander Ryan Borucki.

Now, let's focus on Jones. He crushed a changeup on a 3-1 count, the third that he saw in the at-bat, to give him a second career slam. The first came on July 28, 2008 at Yankee Stadium.

Wynns, Craig Gentry and Mancini singled before Jones delivered his 14th home run of the season and the Orioles' fourth slam. Jones also had a run-scoring single off Ken Giles in a three-run eighth and tied his career high with five RBIs.

Chris Davis singled after the slam and Borucki was done. He began the night with a 2.59 ERA and 1.309 WHIP in five home starts and a 5.86 ERA and 1.771 WHIP in six road starts.

Cobb tied his career high by allowing three home runs, his highest total with the Orioles. Justin Smoak got him with two outs in the first, Kevin Pillar with one out in the second and Devon Travis with two outs in the fifth to tie the game 5-5.

As Travis rounded the bases, Cobb bent at the waist and stared at the ground, probably unaware that manager Buck Showalter was coming to get him. Cobb allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings and he threw 66 of 98 pitches for strikes.

The streak of quality starts began after a July 21 game in Toronto and it ended tonight against the same opponent.

John Andreoli, given another start in center field, has impressed Showalter with his speed. It's been referenced a couple of times in media sessions. Andreoli reached on an infield hit off Danny Barnes with one out in the sixth, the ball skipping off the mound, and he stole second base and raced home on Wynn's single and ninth major league RBI.

Ryan Tepera replaced Barnes, and his two wild pitches allowed Wynns to score and increase the lead to 7-5. It grew to 8-5 in the eighth on Andreoli's leadoff double, Wynns' sacrifice bunt and Giles' throwing error. Russell Martin, moved from catcher to third base, committed an error on Mancini's bouncer to let another run score, and Jones picked up his fifth RBI.

The sweep was set, the first against the Blue Jays in a three-game series at Camden Yards since Sept. 2014. Merry Clinchmas.

Paul Fry stranded two runners in the top of the eighth and loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, forcing Mychal Givens into the game. Givens struck out Teoscar Hernández for his fifth save.

Sean Gilmartin, who replaced Cobb, earned his first win with the Orioles despite two hits and a walk over one inning.

Showalter on Jones and other stuff: "It's also the things that set that up. We're down right out of the chute 4-0 and it looks like it's going to be a tough day. Alex wasn't carrying a feel for his split. It kept slipping out of his hand. He battled through five. I know he's really disappointed in the last hitter he faced. I was going to try to take him through the bottom of the order. But Adam had the big blow and Adam will be the first to tell you a lot of things happened to set that up.

"I was proud. They grinded out a lot of at-bats, tough situations. And some other things that you're all aware of that are challenging."

Showalter on Cobb: "Didn't have a feel for the split, ball kept squirting out, slipping. He was basically a two-pitch guy. Early in the game I thought he was going to have another good one, and then he just didn't have a feel for it after the second inning. You could tell. He threw one to Travis that hung. That's the one that I know will sit in his craw tonight."

Showalter on whether Cobb had another blister: "It wasn't an issue that he had to come out of the game. He's going to have, you know, it's another advantage to pitching in a dome. I think 10-20 years from now everybody will be playing inside. We'll just kind of look around and go, 'What are we doing? Why are we playing doubleheaders? Why are we doing this and that?' We just had one here in August."

Showalter on Andreoli: "One thing he's shown since he got here is he can really run. Stolen base, he actually didn't get a great break but outran the ball. Sometimes those things won't be there. There are so many dynamics that go into stealing bases at an efficient rate. That's what I'm proud of, I think we're second or third in the American League in stolen-base efficiency. But that's been able to pick up as we added some players."

Cobb on Jones: "That was huge. Complete momentum swing. (Borucki) gets out of that jam and it's hard to get that opportunity back, where you have bases loaded and a chance to at least score a couple. Obviously, the grand slam put us on top and completely switched the momentum of the game.

"It's just fun to see him have fun. He's meant so much to this organization. For him to go out there and have big moments like that in a season that's kind of lost for us, it's fun to see and fun to be a part of. I don't know what the future holds for him here, but being his teammate has been a lot of fun."