O's game blog: Dylan Bundy pitches Toronto series opener

TORONTO - After losing two of three in St. Petersburg against the Tampa Bay Rays, the O's road trip has moved on to Toronto. The Blue Jays host the Orioles tonight to start a three-game series that leads into the All-Star break.

The Orioles (25-61) beat the Rays 9-6 on Wednesday night and are 3-3 over their past six games. That win was the club's first this year when trailing or tied after eight innings. The Orioles are 4-16 over their past 20 games and 6-20 over the last 26.

They are trying to break an 11-series road losing streak. The Orioles won their first two series of the year at Yankee Stadium and Rogers Centre, split four games at Boston and have not won a road series since.

Last year, the Orioles went 0-10 at Rogers Centre, where they were outscored 63-28 and outhomered 35-20. But they went 2-1 in Toronto from April 1-3 as each team scored 11 runs over the three games. The clubs have split six games on the season.

Lefty John Means didn't get a win, but gave the Orioles a very solid seven inning outing on Wednesday. He allowed six hits and three runs (two earned). Over his past six starts, his ERA is 1.85 and his ERA remained at 2.50 for the year as he provided the Orioles with their 21st quality start and sixth outing of seven or more innings. After Sunday's game, he heads to Cleveland for the All-Star Game festivities.

Right-hander Dylan Bundy (3-10, 4.91 ERA) will make his 17th start for the Orioles tonight. The team is 4-12 in his starts. Bundy has allowed nine runs and four homers over 9 1/3 innings in his past two starts. That followed a run from May 4 to June 15 when he went 3-4 with a 3.09 ERA over an eight-start stretch. And he gave up three earned runs or less in each of those games.

Lefty batters are hitting .265 with an OPS of .778 off Bundy while right-handers are batting .240/.840. In seven road starts, he is 2-4 with a 4.79 ERA.

Bundy has not faced the Blue Jays in 2019. In 11 career games (seven starts) against Toronto, he is 3-3 with a 3.50 ERA. In five career games at Rogers Centre, he is 2-1 with a 5.01 ERA.

Right-hander Aaron Sanchez (3-11, 6.31 ERA) is set to make his 19th start for Toronto. Sanchez, who won the American League ERA title at 3.00 in 2016, is really struggling now. The Blue Jays have lost his last eight and 11 of his last 12 starts. Sanchez has lost 10 consecutive decisions.

He has given up seven runs or more for four straight starts, going 0-4 with a 16.20 ERA. In 15 innings, he's allowed 31 hits and a .425 batting average against, including five home runs. Sanchez allowed four runs or more four times in his first 12 starts and now has done that in his past six starts.

Toronto blew a 6-1 lead after five innings last night and lost 8-7 to Boston at Rogers Centre to fall to 33-55. Toronto lost two of three in that series. The Blue Jays are 4-3 the last seven games and 7-7 over the past 14.

Their offense has really picked up. Toronto has scored five or more runs for eight straight games and in 14 of the last 15 games. Toronto is averaging 6.4 runs per game over its last 22 games. Toronto's 86 homers since May 16 leads all of the major leagues.