Payback for Pannone vs. O’s
Top of Orioles order knocks Jays starter out early second time around
The team he was facing in his second big-league start may have been the same as his first, but Blue Jay starter Thomas Pannone’s performance couldn’t have been more different.
The 24-year-old went into a hot Tuesday evening at Oriole Park at Camden Yards looking to build on an impressive first start in the majors, when he gave up just one hit in seven innings last Wednesday at the Rogers Centre.
But Pannone lasted just 31⁄ innings this time in a12-5 loss to Baltimore, sealing a series win for the home team while Toronto extended its road slump to six.
Pannone gave up seven runs on nine hits, struggling with his location and failing to notch a strikeout as his jersey got darker and darker with sweat. The ball flew in the heat and the Orioles took advantage, with home runs by Tim Beckham and Craig Gentry accounting for five of the 12 runs. The Orioles had 17 hits, two off their season high. Batters one through five — Jonathan Villar, Gentry, Trey Mancini, Adam Jones and Chris Davis — went a combined 15-for-24 with nine RBIs.
Justin Smoak responded for the Jays with his 20th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth, marking the third time in his career he has reached that mark. Randal Grichuk added No. 19, a two-out, opposite-field solo shot in the seventh, plus a ninth-inning RBI single in his second fourhit game of the season — and the month. The Jays also went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left10 on base after 12 hits.
For the Orioles, Josh Rogers — acquired from the Yankees in the Zach Britton trade last month — made his big-league debut and allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings.
The Orioles took a commanding lead in a four-run third, which began with Pannone giving up a one-out triple to Mancini. Jones drove him in with a single, then Davis singled and Beckham cashed in the pair with a three-run shot to make it a 5-0 game.
Gentry’s two-run homer in the fourth chased Pannone, who handed the ball to Joe Biagini.
While Toronto responded by scoring all four of its runs between the fourth and the seventh, with Kevin Pillar getting the rally starting in the fourth with an RBI single, Baltimore put up another five runs off Biagini and Murphy Smith, who bookended clean nights for Tim Mayza and Ryan Tepera.
Left-hander Ryan Borucki will look to help the Jays avoid a sweep when he takes the mound Wednesday night against right-hander Alex Cobb.