A HAPPY RETURN
YOVANI GALLARDO OFF DISABLE LIST TO PICTH ORIOLES PAST BLUES JAYS, 4-2
It’s too early for the Orioles to breathe a sigh of relief after Yovani Gallardo delivered a solid five innings in his first start back in the rotation after missing two months rehabilitating a sore shoulder. But Gallardo’s wily performance Saturday was certainly a breath of fresh air for a team in the middle of a pitching crisis.
Gallardo gave up just two runs on five hits and deftly worked out of a couple of dangerous situations to continue his career dominance of the Toronto Blue Jays in a tense 4-2 victory at Oriole Park. He got the win to improve his record to 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA in four lifetime starts against Toronto.
“I felt good,” Gallardo said. “I made pitches when I had to. It was just good to be back out there once again and contribute.”
The Orioles (39-28) staked him to a quick two-run lead against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey in the first inning when Jonathan Schoop and Manny Machado delivered back-to-back doubles for one run and Machado came home minutes later on a passed ball.
The Blue Jays, who hit five homers and scored 13 runs Friday night, threatened to open up on Gallardo in the third inning when Ezequiel Carrera lined a solo home run to center with one out and the next three hitters reached base on a double and two walks. One more big swing and it would have been a different game, but Gallardo struck out Justin Smoak and Troy Tulowitzki to get out of trouble.
After throwing 85 pitches, Gallardo gave way to right-hander Mychal Givens, who pitched two innings of one-hit relief. Brad Brach pitched a perfect eighth and Zach Britton struggled through the ninth to get his 21st straight save to start the season.
Britton loaded the bases with one out on a single and two walks before getting Josh Donaldson to ground into a gameending double play.
“Today was tough. I was really just trying to make a quality pitch and get a ground ball and I didn’t get anything close enough for them to really offer at,” Britton said. “Once I started getting behind throwing pitches that were elevated, I knew they were going to make me throw some strikes and it was tough.” Manny at full steam: Nobody could question Machado’s effort Saturday after he got called out for his apparent lack of hustle on a couple of balls Thursday and Friday.
He sped around the bases on a firstinning double and streaked home on a passed ball to score the second run of the game. He also beat out an infield hit in the third inning and lined a solid single to left-center in the eighth. J.J.’s return: J.J. Hardy also returned to action after nearly seven weeks on the disabled list and looked comfortable at shortstop. He also pulled a double down the left-field line in his second at-bat of the game. Schoop won’t knuckle under: Orioles manager Buck Showalter inserted Schoop into the No. 2 hole in the lineup against Dickey and the Orioles second baseman delivered a key double in the first inning and a solo home run in the third. Protecting Kim: Hyun Soo Kim has gotten most of the at-bats in the second slot against right-handed pitching over the past few weeks, but Showalter apparently wanted to hide him from Dickey after the way Kim struggled in two starts against Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright.