Bottom of order comes through in O's defeat
Reimold, Flaherty go yard, contribute half of Baltimore's base hits
TORONTO -- On a day where the top of the order couldn't muster much in the way of offense, it was the bottom of the Orioles' lineup that came through at the plate in their 10-4 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Half of the O's hits and three of their runs on Sunday came from Nolan Reimold and Ryan Flaherty, Nos. 8 and 9 in the order, respectively.
Reimold went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in his big league return after his contract was selected from Triple-A Norfolk prior to the game, and Flaherty went 1-for-3 with a homer and a walk as the Orioles lost for the 14th time in their past 17 games. It was Flaherty's third homer in eight games.
Video: BAL@TOR: Flaherty drills a two-run shot in the 5th
"Nolan's done some good things. One of the highlights, just from a personal level for me, has been him getting healthy from a real severe injury he's had," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He's been healthy all year, and it's been encouraging to see he's been able to stay healthy. Had a couple of good swings today."
Reimold, who's battled injuries throughout his seven-year career, had spinal surgery in 2012 to repair a herniated disc.
After six years with the Orioles from 2009-14, the 31-year-old split time last season between the D-backs and Blue Jays. He was outrighted to Norfolk late last month, and he chose to accept his assignment because he wanted to stay with the organization.
"Didn't wanna leave. Just a choice that I made, and I feel like it was a good choice," Reimold said. "Back up here, it's September, and really I'm right back to where I was before."
While the bottom of the order pulled its weight, the top-heavy Orioles struggled to generate offense in the last two games of the series against the Blue Jays. After knocking 10 runs home on Friday, the team could only put up one run on four hits on Saturday and four runs on six hits Sunday.
Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said Toronto's starting pitching made it tough at the plate.
"You run into [David] Price, who's been on a tear, you run into [Marco] Estrada, who's been on a tear, respectively their last 10 starts," said Jones, who was 1-for-7 combined Saturday and Sunday. "Tip your cap to the guys, they're out there pitching and we're trying to square something up. It ain't easy."