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Blue Jays-Orioles Preview

Sep 12, 2010 - 10:06 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Toronto (72-70) at Baltimore (55-87), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The Toronto Blue Jays have dominated the Baltimore Orioles this season, going 12-0. Considering the improvement the Orioles have shown under Buck Showalter, the Blue Jays could have problems extending that run.

Toronto faces Baltimore for the first time since Showalter's arrival Monday night at Camden Yards.

The Blue Jays (73-70) have outscored the Orioles 70-23 and outhomered them 24-4 in winning every meeting this season.

"They've got some good pitching over there," Toronto first baseman Lyle Overbay told the Orioles' official website. "They've got some good hitters. They can put some runs on the board - I can't explain it."

Baltimore (55-88) should provide a tougher challenge with Showalter in charge. The Orioles have gone 23-15 since he took over, and return home after a 4-2 trip that ended with a 6-2 loss to Detroit on Sunday.

One player relishing the chance to face Toronto is Brian Matusz (8-12, 4.71 ERA), who has posted a 2.00 ERA in winning four straight starts. His last two came against Boston and New York, and he limited the Yankees to three runs over six innings of a 4-3 victory Tuesday.

"You can't just walk over us, because we're playing good baseball right now," Matusz said. "It's fun to come out and beat teams in our division."

Matusz lost his lone 2010 start against Toronto, allowing six runs over 1 2-3 innings of a 10-1 defeat July 18. The left-hander failed to get out of the third inning in his other outing against the Blue Jays on Aug. 9, 2009, giving up five runs in a 7-3 loss.

Jose Bautista, who has a major league-leading 46 homers, has one hit in two at-bats against Matusz. Bautista has six homers and 15 RBIs versus Baltimore this year.

Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion is eligible to be activated off the disabled list Monday. Bautista will move to right field, with Travis Snider getting the majority of time in left.

The Blue Jays have hit 224 homers to lead the majors, with Adam Lind delivering a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday for a 5-4 victory over Tampa Bay. Toronto ended a four-game slide.

The Blue Jays have lost the last five games started by Marc Rzepczynski (1-4, 6.47). The left-hander is 0-3 with an 8.18 ERA in that span, and gave up three runs over five innings of an 8-1 loss to Texas on Wednesday.

Rzepczynski's last start against the Orioles came July 12, 2009. He allowed three runs in six innings, losing 4-2 at Camden Yards.