Orioles drop series opener 5-1 at Rogers Centre

TORONTO - With a chance to move into a tie for the first American League wild card tonight, the Orioles instead fell behind early, struggled again on offense and never caught up. They lost 5-1 to Toronto in front of 44,762 at Rogers Centre to fall two games back of the Blue Jays with five to play.

The Orioles are 85-72 overall and 2-6 in this building this season. Wins by either Detroit or Seattle tonight would move those teams to within one game of the Orioles for the second wild card.

Two batters into the last of the first, Toronto's Josh Donaldson hit a 429-foot two-run homer off Kevin Gausman and Toronto had a lead it never lost. Gausman walked the leadoff hitter, Ezequiel Carrera on six pitches and then Donaldson connected for his 37th homer and a quick 2-0 lead.

The Orioles offense came into this series having hit just .200 with 23 runs scored and just 5-for-49 with runners in scoring position the past nine games. They could not break out tonight against right-hander Aaron Sanchez, who ranks third in the league in ERA.

Sanchez went six innings, allowing five hits and one run with three walks and 10 strikeouts. He struck out the side in the first on 16 pitches and the Orioles went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position against him as he improved to 14-2 with an ERA of 3.06.

The Orioles scored six runs off Sanchez, hitting four homers, the first time they faced him this season on June 12. In four starts versus the Orioles since that outing, he has an ERA of 1.44.

The O's did push one run across in the third. J.J. Hardy led off with a double to right-center. He scored on Mark Trumbo's two-out single, his 105th RBI, and it was a 2-1 game.

But Toronto leadoff batter Carrera drove in two runs tonight. His solo homer to left off Gausman in the third made it 3-1. He singled during Toronto's two-run fifth as the Jays opened a 5-1 lead. A second run scored that inning on a Manny Machado throwing error as he tried to get a forceout at second.

Gausman, who entered this start with a mark of 4-1 and 1.83 ERA over his last six games, went six innings. He gave up seven hits and five runs (four earned) with two walks and five strikeouts. He falls to 8-12 with an ERA of 3.66.

Orioles starting pitchers have an ERA of 8.18 and just one quality start in eight games at Rogers Centre this year. The Orioles have lost six of seven and 12 of their last 17 games in Toronto.

The Blue Jays improved to 87-70 and have won six of eight and eight of their last 12 games