Bundy quiets Jays; Davis' 3 RBIs power win

July 6th, 2019

TORONTO -- gave the Orioles one of his best performances of the season on Friday night at Rogers Centre as he took an early lead and carried it into the seventh inning of Baltimore’s 4-1 win over the Blue Jays.

The same home run troubles that plagued Bundy in 2018 have followed him into ‘19, and he had allowed a pair in each of his past two starts coming into Friday, but Bundy managed to limit Toronto to just a solo shot in the seventh while dancing around the danger elsewhere. The Blue Jays managed just two other hits off of Bundy, who struck out six, but it’s what he did immediately after those two hits that was most impressive.

After his team handed him the 2-0 lead in the second, Bundy gave up a leadoff triple to the red-hot . He then got to strike out swinging on a slider that he buried low before forcing back-to-back ground balls to escape the inning.

In the next frame, Bundy allowed another extra-base hit to open things up, this time a double to . Again, he managed to prevent any further damage and got to end the inning with a harmless ground ball to first base. Friday’s start marks just the third time that Bundy has pitched into the seventh inning over 17 starts this season, which is something he’s been working towards.

“Absolutely, every start. That’s our goal every time we go out there, to go deep in the game and give your team a chance to win,” Bundy said.

The lone homer came on Bundy’s final pitch of the day, a fastball on the inside edge that turned on and sent over the wall in left field. It was the 20th home run allowed by Bundy this season. Bundy was pleased with his curveball and changeup, but he felt that his fastball and slider took longer to settle in.

“He’s been pitching really well,” said manager Brandon Hyde, “especially the first five innings of the game. His pitch count was so low tonight, he was really efficient with his pitches. I think he was the same guy. I think he just made really good pitches and just made one mistake there in the seventh inning. I thought he was fantastic.”

carried the offense, which is a refreshing sight for the Orioles. The first baseman opened the scoring with a solo homer, his seventh of the season, and later provided the insurance with a two-run single in the top of the ninth to give him three RBIs.

“He’s feeling good at the plate. He just got some pitches to hit,” Hyde said. “I like when I see CD ready to hit from the first pitch and I think he goes through spurts where he gets caught in between and starts guessing a little bit, but I like when he’s on time with the fastball from the first pitch of the at-bat. I think that helps him a lot.”