Final
Orioles end regular season north of the border
Sep 28, 2014 - 2:23 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - It'll be nine innings-by-committee on Sunday afternoon in Toronto when the Baltimore Orioles wrap up their 2014 regular season with the finale of a three-game series with the host Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.Miguel Gonzalez will start the game for the Orioles, who won the American League East title and will begin the postseason on Thursday, as manager Buck Showalter aligns his pitching staff for an October run.
Gonzalez will start either game two or game three of the playoffs for Baltimore, so he will likely not go deep into Sunday's finale because Showalter also wants to give some relievers some innings as well, including Ubaldo Jimenez, Zach Britton, Darren O'Day, Andrew Miller and Tommy Hunter.
"I'm probably going to get Ubaldo out there," Showalter said. "I know Zach's going to pitch again, Darren's going to pitch, Miller's going to pitch and Hunter's going to pitch."
Gonzalez has dropped consecutive starts while allowing six runs in 11 2/3 innings. He's started twice against the Blue Jays in 2014 and won a lone decision while compiling a 2.31 earned run average.
A win for the Blue Jays would ensure no worse than a tie for second place in the AL East for the first time since 2006. Toronto hasn't reached the playoffs since winning its last World Series 21 years ago.
"It's really too bad, because I think everyone had that sense that this was going to be that year, that special season," Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen said.
Baltimore hasn't lost four straight games since late May.
"We're throwing the ball around a little bit right now," Showalter said.
Toronto starts R.A. Dickey with a chance to get him to 15 wins for the second time in his career and first since he won the National League Cy Young Award in 2012 with the New York Mets.
He's gone 5-0 in his last seven starts, including a seven-inning stint to defeat Seattle, 10-2, on Tuesday.
As a Blue Jay, he's 0-3 against the Orioles in five starts.
On Saturday, Jose Reyes finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, as Toronto topped Baltimore, 4-2.
Kevin Pillar added two hits and crossed home twice, while Steve Tolleson posted an RBI double for the Blue Jays.
J.A. Happ (11-11) worked 6 1/3 innings for the win, giving up just two runs on four hits. Janssen had a quiet ninth to notch his 25th save.
Adam Jones homered and Delmon Young knocked in the other run for the Orioles.
Wei-Yin Chen (16-6) took the loss, charged with five hits and three runs -- two earned -- over six full frames.
- BALTIMORE: 1
TORONTO: 0
Final
Sep 28 3:35 PM - Jonathan Schoop two-out, solo Home Run (16) to left. Nick Markakis due up.
Orioles 1, Blue Jays 0 Top 5, 2 OutsSep 28 2:15 PM - Nick Markakis doubles to deep left field.
Sep 28 1:08 PM - BALTIMORE: 0
TORONTO: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Sep 28 1:08 PM
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