Blue Jays hammer Orioles as tempers flare
TORONTO -- Edwin Encarnacion homered twice, Jose Bautista added one of his own and Mark Buehrle recorded his third consecutive quality start as the Blue Jays walked all over the Orioles in a testy 13-6 victory on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.
Toronto took control of the game early with a six-run second inning that saw 10 batters come to the plate. Encarnacion led off that frame with a homer, Ryan Goins added a two-run single and third baseman Josh Donaldson had an RBI double. Right-hander Bud Norris was charged with all six of the runs and he surrendered three more in the third before getting pulled from the game.
Video: BAL@TOR: Blue Jays score six runs in the 2nd inning
Tempers flared in the seventh when Orioles right-hander Jason Garcia threw a pitch that went behind Bautista's back. Bautista responded later in the at-bat with a two-run homer to left field and both sides exchanged words as he rounded the bases. The talk continued during the following inning, but cooler heads eventually did prevail and the dugouts never emptied.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Norris yanked in the third: Though he's been strong in the past against the Blue Jays, Norris has struggled in 2015. The right-hander only made it into the third inning before he was lifted after allowing nine earned runs on six hits. More >
Encarnacion goes to the fifth deck: Encarnacion became the third player in Rogers Centre history to hit more than one career home run into the fifth deck. Jose Canseco did it three times -- twice as an opponent -- and Josh Phelps did it twice. Encarnacion's first shot into the fifth deck came on April 30, 2013, against the Red Sox and he found a similar distance Tuesday night, when his solo homer off lefty Brian Matusz went into the same level. It also was Encarnacion's first multi-homer game of the season and the 18th of his career.
Video: Must C Crushed: Encarnacion hits a pair of deep jacks
Bautista responds again: The benches had just been warned by plate umpire Mark Carlson after Garcia's pitch sailed behind Bautista in the seventh inning. The Blue Jays' right fielder then sent a home run deep over the left-center-field wall to put the game even further out of reach. As he took the field for the top of the eighth, Bautista then exchanged words with Orioles center fielder Adam Jones. It's not the first time something like this has happened. Orioles right-hander Darren O'Day threw behind Bautista at Camden Yards earlier this season, and Bautista responded in the same manner: with a home run. More >
Video: TOR@BAL: Bautista's two-run shot extends lead
Pillar wows again: Kevin Pillar is continuing to make a name for himself across the Majors with a seemingly endless list of dazzling plays. His latest defensive gem occurred during the top of the seventh inning. Jones appeared to have a hit with a low line drive that was heading for the gap in left-center field until Pillar sprawled out to make a headfirst diving catch. He then fired to second base to double off Chris Davis. More >
Video: BAL@TOR: Pillar makes incredible catch, turns two
QUOTABLE
"I don't understand why they keep throwing behind us and hitting us. Ryan Goins got hit today, all of a sudden. The guy is painting and hitting his spots, and then all of a sudden one fastball gets away and hits him square in the thigh, nowhere near the strike zone. For a team that complains and whines so much about when their guys get pitched inside, they should manage their pitching a little bit better." -- Bautista
Video: BAL@TOR: Blue Jays, O's discuss bad blood in the 7th
"Things like that, that's uncalled for in our game. Especially the level of play that he's reached, it's just uncalled for to me." -- Jones, reacting to Bautista's home run celebration in the seventh inning
Video: BAL@TOR: Bautista, Jones have words with each other
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Blue Jays have scored more than 10 runs in four games this season. Buehrle was on the mound for three of those games, and the 37 runs of support he has received this year is more than any other pitcher in baseball. More >
REPLAY REVIEW
Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey broke for home on a Jose Reyes ground ball and beat shortstop Everth Cabrera's throw to the plate with a headfirst slide in the bottom of the second inning with one out. Orioles manager Buck Showalter challenged the call, but after a one-minute, 44-second review, the ruling on the field would stand and the Blue Jays had a 4-0 lead.
Video: BAL@TOR: Safe call at home stands in 2nd
WHAT'S NEXT
Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez takes the mound Wednesday at 7:07 p.m. ET for the second game of this series, looking for a repeat of his first start of the season. The right-hander kicked off the 2015 season by pitching seven shutout innings against the Blue Jays in a Baltimore victory. He lasted only 3 2/3 innings against the Red Sox his last time out after an ejection.
Blue Jays: Right-hander Aaron Sanchez will look to solve his command issues when he takes the mound. Sanchez showed some progress in his last outing but still had issues at times locating his fastball and curveball, which led to three runs over 5 1/3 innings.
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