Blue Jays mark middle of season with tough loss
Break will give club ‘a breather to regroup’
BALTIMORE The Toronto Blue Jays finished a disappointing first half with another loss, one lined with a single positive thought: They won’t see Chris Davis again until September.
Davis hit his 37th home run to tie the AL record before the All-Star break, and the Baltimore Orioles cruised past the Blue Jays 7-4 Sunday.
Davis doubled in two runs in the first inning and hit a two-run homer in the third to give him 93 RBIs, secondmost in the majors behind Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera.
The slugger pulled into the break with a homer in four straight games. With Davis leading the way, the Orioles took two of three against the last-place Blue Jays.
“Superhuman,” Toronto manager John Gibbons said. “He’s having some kind of year. I saw him a little bit when he was in Texas coming up. He could always hit home runs. He got his opportunity here to play every day and he’s taken advantage of it. It’s pretty impressive.”
Davis equalled Reggie Jackson’s AL mark of 37 homers before the break, set in 1969. The major league record is 39, by Barry Bonds in 2001.
Davis has already reached career highs in home runs and RBIs with 66 games left in the regular season.
“I think it’s something definitely to be proud of,” Davis said. “It means I’ve been doing my job, but it also speaks volumes about the guys in front of me getting on base and really swinging the bats well.”
His four RBIs came against Toronto starter Josh Johnson (1-5).
“Not a good pitch to Davis,” Johnson said of the home run. “Right now he’s hitting everything. Just got to make a better pitch.”
The good news for the Blue Jays is that they won’t face the Orioles again until Sept. 13. By then, perhaps Toronto will recover from a 45-49 first half that featured an 11-game winning streak but ended with 13 losses in 20 games.
“Definitely frustrating,” Gibbons said. “These four days will be good for us. A little breather (to) regroup. We will find out what we’re made of and how good we are in the second half.”
Adam Jones homered and scored three runs for the Orioles. The home run was his 19th of the season and third in three games.
Scott Feldman (1-1) allowed three runs and five hits over 7 1-3 innings to earn his first win with the Orioles in three starts since being traded from the Chicago Cubs on July 2. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one.
“I think command-wise I was a little better today,” he said. “I was able to throw in that first strike when I needed to, which was helpful.”
After Maicer Izturis singled in a run in the ninth off Tommy Hunter, Jim Johnson got three outs for his 33rd save.
Izturis had three RBIs for the Blue Jays, who fell to 4-11 in their last 15 games at Camden Yards.
Josh Johnson yielded a career high-tying seven earned runs and seven hits in six innings. His only win in 12 starts this season came against Baltimore on June 23.
“First inning they dropped four on us. It’s tough to come back from that,” said Gibbons.
Baltimore bolted to the lead, getting hits from four of its All-Stars: Manny Machado, Jones, Davis and J.J. Hardy.
After Nate McLouth opened with a single, Machado singled and Jones hit an RBI single. Davis followed with a double into the right-field corner and Hardy capped the uprising with a run-scoring single.
Davis made it 6-0 with an opposite-field drive to left after Jones drew a walk.
“When you got guys hitting opposite field that are decent pitches,” Johnson said, “it’s tough.”
Izturis singled in two runs with two outs in the fourth, and Jones hit a solo shot in the fifth for a 7-2 lead.
After Feldman gave up a single to Jose Reyes in the eighth, Hunter allowed a two-out RBI single to Juan Encarnacion.
NOTES: Baltimore has homered in 17 straight games against AL East foes, a franchise record. ... Actor Kevin Spacey threw out the ceremonial first pitch.