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Blue Jays make a stop in Baltimore

Aug 30, 2011 - 3:16 PM (Sports Network) - Toronto lefty Brett Cecil hopes to get the Blue Jays back above .500 and remain unbeaten against Baltimore when they visit the Orioles tonight in the opener of a three-game series at Camden Yards.

The Jays are 67-67 on the season after dropping three of four home games against Tampa Bay over the weekend, but they salvaged one Monday when Jose Bautista and Adam Lind homered to back six effective innings from Ricky Romero in a 7-3 triumph.

Romero (13-9) gave up three runs on six hits and four walks, and a strong output from the Toronto offense allowed him to win his sixth consecutive decision.

The left-hander has not lost since July 16.

J.P. Arencibia had three hits and drove in two runs for the Blue Jays, who snapped a four-game slide overall. They lost the first three games of the series by a combined score of 24-6.

Cecil, a 25-year-old from Dunkirk, Md., is 3-0 in four career starts against the Orioles, allowing only six earned runs in 24 2/3 innings while walking five batters and striking out 18.

He's not won overall since July 29, however, dropping three decisions in five starts, including a 9-6 verdict to Kansas City in his last outing on Aug. 25.

In that game, Cecil surrendered nine hits and five runs in 6 1/3 innings.

The Blue Jays are 5-5 in his last 10 starts.

On Monday in Baltimore, Freddy Garcia returned from the disabled list and pitched six strong innings, while Nick Swisher clubbed a two-run homer for the New York Yankees in a 3-2 win to conclude a four-game series.

J.J. Hardy went deep for the Orioles, who have lost two in a row since a six- game winning streak.

Alfredo Simon (4-7) had six strikeouts over seven innings, but lost for the third time in his last four decisions.

For Baltimore, former first-round pick Jeremy Guthrie aims for a second straight victory and a third in his career against Toronto.

The 22nd overall choice in 2002 is 2-7 in 17 meetings with the Blue Jays in which he's posted a respectable 3.62 earned run average across 109 1/3 innings.

He was a 6-1 winner at Minnesota in his most recent start, tossing seven innings of five-hit ball with two walks and five strikeouts.

Guthrie is one loss from matching a career-high of 17, which he posted in 2009 when he was 10-17 across 33 starts with Baltimore.

The Orioles are 3-7 in his last 10 outings.

Toronto has won eight of 12 meetings with the Orioles this season.