When the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles play, it stands to reason that home runs will have a significant role in the outcome of the game — especially if Chris Davis is in the lineup.
The Orioles first baseman reached the 50-home run plateau Friday, producing the go-ahead run in a 5-3 Baltimore victory in front of 20,024 at Rogers Centre.
“I knew I barrelled it up,” Davis told reporters. “I tried to go the other way there with two strikes. I’ve faced Steve (Delabar) a few times. You can’t look for his split, as hard as he throws. I was just trying to put a good swing on it and stay through it.”
The Blue Jays rank second in MLB in home runs, trailing only the Orioles, so it wasn’t a surprise when Toronto built an early lead thanks to home runs by Adam Lind and Colby Rasmus.
Yet it was pleasantly surprising for the Blue Jays to see Rasmus adjust seamlessly to MLB pitching after a month-long stint on the disabled list. Even though he didn’t have the chance to play in rehabilitation games, the centre fielder homered to right field and singled in his return.
Once Rasmus got onto the field, he had no trouble getting into the rhythm of the game.
“The adrenaline’s pumping and you want to do something,” he said after the game. “I just tried to relax as much as I could and focus on the things that I was focusing on before I left. It worked out good for me.”
Starter Todd Redmond threw 6.1 innings, setting a career-high in one of his most impressive outings as a Blue Jays starter. The right-hander struck out seven without walking a batter, and allowed just one earned run on three hits.
“He’s done a great job. He really came out of nowhere,” Gibbons said. “He’s been a pleasant surprise for us … What he’s done is put himself on the map.”
Redmond explained that he felt strong throughout the entire outing, but didn’t object when Gibbons removed him after 75 pitches.
“I felt really good today,” he said, noting that his splitter was his go-to pitch. “I was able to keep the ball down and keep hitters off-balance,” he said.
The Blue Jays bullpen wasn’t nearly as effective as Redmond, allowing the Orioles to tie the game and then take the lead. Gibbons acknowledged that the plan to remove Redmond after just 75 pitches backfired, but explained that he was looking to be pro-active.
Toronto opened the scoring in the fourth inning, when Lind hit a home run off of Jason Hammel to right-centre field. The blast, Lind’s 20th of the season, drove in an Edwin Encarnacion walk. Following Rasmus’s home run, the Blue Jays had a 3-0 lead.
But the Orioles tied the game in the seventh inning, thanks to a leadoff double from Adam Jones, a shaky relief outing from Dustin McGowan and a poor defensive play by Moises Sierra. The right fielder misread a Steve Clevenger base hit, and it bounced over his head to the wall as J.J. Hardy and Ryan Flaherty scored.
DAVIS MAKES HISTORY: Davis’s 50th home run of the year ties him with Brady Anderson for the Orioles franchise record. The AL MVP candidate leads MLB in home runs and is now hitting .296/.379/.655.
“He’s so strong, he hits them anywhere,” Gibbons said. “The thing that makes him so good is he hits them everywhere … He’s dangerous.”
Davis becomes the first player to reach the 50-home run plateau since Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays hit 54 in 2010. Davis also joins Babe Ruth and Albert Belle as one of three players in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and 40 doubles in the same season.
“It’s a humbling feeling to be in the same company with the guys I’m in,” said Davis.
RASMUS, ENCARNACION RETURN: Rasmus knew his timing would return following his oblique injury. It was just a question of how long it would take to feel comfortable facing MLB pitchers again.
As it turns out, the wait wasn’t long. Rasmus homered in his second plate appearance and singled his next time up.
“He looked good,” Gibbons said, citing a pair of athletic catches in centre and the home run. “That’s not easy to do without some live at-bats in quite a while.”
Rasmus explained that he was pleased to be playing baseball again after such a long absence.
“No doubt about it,” he said. “I was just happy to be back.”
Back in the lineup for the first time in nearly a week, Encarnacion drew a walk in four trips to the plate, hitting two long foul balls in the process. As Gibbons said before the game, the Blue Jays lineup seems considerably deeper with the return of Encarnacion and Rasmus.
THE BATS: Lind has now reached the 20-homer plateau in four of the last five seasons. Now in the midst of his most productive offensive season since his breakout 2009 campaign, Lind has a .349 on-base percentage and a .481 slugging percentage. As long as he’s not over-exposed to left-handed pitching, the 30-year-old contributes.
THE ARMS: Redmond lowered his ERA to 4.10 Friday, starting for the 11th time this season. Now in his final option year, he is doing everything he can to show the Blue Jays that he belongs on the 2014 team.
“I hope so,” Redmond said. “Next year is next year, but I hope I am (in the team’s plans). I just go out there and try to do my best and help the team win.”
Meanwhile, Hammel pitched five innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits in his first start since July 28. The right-hander had made one relief appearance with the Orioles since returning from the disabled list.
WHERE THINGS STAND: The Orioles entered the day 2.5 games behind in the AL wild-card race, tied with the Kansas City Royals. The Orioles improve to 78-69 with the win, while the Blue Jays fall to 67-80.
The Blue Jays have now started their current homestand with four consecutive losses.
The series resumes Saturday at 4:07 p.m. ET, when Esmil Rogers faces Chris Tillman. Rogers is coming off a strong start in which he pitched a career-high 7.2 innings against the Minnesota Twins. Meanwhile, Tillman shut down the New York Yankees in his most recent start to improve to 16-5.
NOTES: Remember the so-called man in white? When Gibbons was a coach for the Kansas City Royals, other teams wondered if the Blue Jays were doing something shady with their signs. Gibbons joked that nobody’s wondering if there’s anything untoward going on now that the Blue Jays are last in their division … Manny Machado struck out three times, but he continues to impress on defence, going to his right with apparent ease to make difficult plays … Sergio Santos continues to pitch well in relief … Adam Jones collected three hits for Baltimore.
