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Burnett, Blue Jays face Orioles in opener of weekend series

Aug 17, 2007 - 2:40 PM Baltimore (56-63) at Toronto (61-59) 7:07 pm EDT

TORONTO (Ticker) -- A.J. Burnett will take the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays, who will look to bounce back from a disappointing loss when they take on the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.

After taking the first two contests of a three-game set against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Blue Jays suffered a 4-3 setback on Thursday, leaving the go-ahead runs on base in the ninth inning.

As a result, Toronto is six games behind the Seattle Mariners (66-52), who were idle on Thursday, in a suddenly crowded American League wild card race.

The Blue Jays will look to get back on track behind Burnett (6-6, 4.09 ERA), who yielded one run and three hits in 7 1/3 innings of a 4-1 victory at the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. It was Burnett's first victory since May 22, and first start since June 28 following yet another stint on the disabled list.

He will be opposed by rookie Garrett Olson (1-1, 4.60), who gave up four runs, eight hits and six walks in 6 1/3 innings of a 6-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Prior to facing the Red Sox, Olson's first two major league starts were against the Chicago White Sox, going 1-0 and allowing a combined four runs and 11 hits in 9 1/3 frames.

The Orioles, who were idle on Thursday, are coming off a dramatic 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees in 10 innings, sealing their second series win over an AL East squad.