Hutchison continues to look strong early in '14

BALTIMORE -- There was some good news for the Blue Jays in Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Orioles, because Toronto again got some solid starting pitching from Drew Hutchison.

The right-hander threw six scoreless innings and did a good job keeping the strong Baltimore lineup quiet. Hutchison struck out five and walked two, throwing 96 pitches, 57 of which were strikes.

"I was able to make some good pitches, some big pitches early," Hutchison said. "I threw a lot of pitches [early]. But I was able to find a groove in the fifth and the sixth."

Hutchison has been solid in two of his three starts this year. He threw 5 1/3 scoreless frames against the Rays on April 1 in his first start.

"He's got a good idea [of] what he's doing out there," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

The start on Saturday was just his third since injuring his elbow on June 15, 2012, and undergoing Tommy John surgery in August of that summer.

The six innings he threw against the Orioles was the first time Hutchison has gone at least that far since May 28, 2012. He's also 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA (two earned runs in 18 innings) versus Baltimore.