Preview: Orioles Vs. Blue Jays
By ALAN FERGUSON
STATS Writer
(AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles are closing in on their first AL East championship in 17 years and can move to the cusp of clinching that title by taking the series opener from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Wei-Yin Chen will try to get the Orioles' magic number to one with his ninth victory in 10 decisions Monday night but he'll be opposed by red-hot rookie Marcus Stroman.
Baltimore's comeback in Sunday night's 3-2 victory against the New York Yankees put it 11 1/2 games ahead of Toronto in the division. The Orioles (89-60) hit three doubles in the ninth with Steve Pearce's driving in the tying run and Kelly Johnson bringing in the winning one.
"That's the beauty of a team," center fielder Adam Jones said. "Everyone gets at-bats, everyone gets an opportunity to do something. When an opportunity arises, big bats come through."
Baltimore is cruising toward its first division crown since 1997 with 16 wins in 21 games and 27 in its last 35 home contests.
Chen (15-4, 3.59 ERA) has played a part by allowing one run in 13 innings in his first two starts this month. He took a perfect game into the sixth inning in Wednesday's 10-6 win in Boston.
The left-hander was charged with one run, three hits and no walks in seven innings. He's 8-1 with a 2.85 ERA in his last 12 starts, but suffered the lone loss in that stretch at Toronto (77-71) on Aug. 6.
Chen gave up four runs in five innings in a 5-1 defeat and is 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in two career starts against the Blue Jays.
In his first matchup with Baltimore, Stroman (10-5, 3.61) will seek to win a career-high fourth consecutive start. The right-hander, owner of a 1.59 ERA in his last three games, registered his first complete game and first shutout last Monday against the visiting Chicago Cubs.
He yielded three hits, walked none and matched a personal high with eight strikeouts in an 8-0 victory.
Stroman is getting two extra days of rest after an off-day Thursday and manager John Gibbons' decision to pitch Mark Buehrle on Sunday and reportedly have him avoid an Orioles team that's he struggled against recently.
"This time of year, it's gonna benefit more than hurt," Gibbons told MLB's official website. "(Stroman's last start) was pretty effortless, but it was still nine innings."
The Blue Jays, four games back in the AL wild-card race, dropped two of three to Tampa Bay this weekend after winning 10 of 13 with both losses coming by one run. They rallied from a four-run deficit Sunday before falling 6-5 in 10 innings.
"We all know we're not in a good position," Buehrle said. "We need help from other teams. But at the same time, we've got to worry about ourselves and try to win the games we're playing."
Jose Bautista will try to give Stroman and the Jays a lift while boosting his .375 average in his past 11 games against Baltimore. He has two homers and 10 RBIs in those matchups, and is batting .308 with eight homers and 20 RBIs while batting safely in 15 of his last 17 contests.
Bautista went 2 for 3 and hit a two-run homer off Chen in last month's game.
Nelson Cruz is hitting .348 with three homers and 13 RBIs in 12 games against Toronto this season, and is batting .333 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs in his last 38 matchups.
The Orioles have won six of nine against Toronto but are 3-4 at home in the season series.
Updated September 15, 2014
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