Bautista can't provide Blue Jays help in 5-2 loss to Orioles
BALTIMORE (AP) There are times when Jose Bautista can't even run a comb through his hair, so expecting the Toronto Blue Jays slugger to throw a baseball seems out of the question.
Therefore, until further notice, Bautista will be doing nothing more than swinging the bat.
Sometimes.
Bautista grounded out as pinch hitter to end the Blue Jays' 5-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night. Afterward, he explained that his sore right shoulder has made it difficult to do many things, most notably making a decent throw from right field.
''Sometimes I wake up and I can't brush my hair, sometimes I wake up and it feels OK,'' he said. ''Obviously not good enough to throw. It just changes from day to day. I can't tell you why. I just can't throw right now.''
Bautista sat out nearly a week after hurting his shoulder on a throw against the Orioles on April 21. He has played designated hitter in 12 of Toronto's last 14 games and pinch hit in the other two.
''The team wants me to hit. It doesn't hurt me to swing,'' he said. ''I want to be in the lineup. I mean obviously I want to play defense, but I can't throw.''
Manager John Gibbons hopes that using Bautista sparingly will hasten the process of getting him back to being a two-way player.
''I'm looking to give him a day off every now and then,'' Gibbons said. ''He's definitely getting better.''
Bautista was 2 for 29 lifetime against Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez, so the decision to keep him in the dugout was easy. The problem for the Blue Jays was that Jimenez was overpowering against everyone else, too, except for Ezequiel Carrera, who had two doubles and two RBIs.
Manny Machado and Chris Davis hit first-inning homers, Jimenez had a season-high nine strikeouts over seven sharp innings and the Orioles celebrated their return to Baltimore by beating Toronto for only the second time in seven tries this season.
Adam Jones also homered for the Orioles, who had lost five of six to fall into last place in the AL East.
Because of rioting and violence in the city, the Orioles last played in front of their home fans on April 26. Enjoying the comfort of familiar surroundings and fueled by a spirited crowd of 20,468, Baltimore took a quick 3-0 lead and cruised to the finish behind Jimenez (3-2).
Jimenez gave up two runs, six hits and two walks. His three wins are one more than he had all last season.
Darren O'Day worked the eighth and Zach Britton got three outs for his seventh save.
After Jimenez struck out the side in the first inning, Machado led off the bottom half with an opposite-field drive to right off Marco Estrada (1-2). Then, after Delmon Young drew a two-out walk, Davis hit his team-leading eighth homer.
''I made a bad pitch to Machado, he got it,'' Estrada said. ''I tried going up and in on Davis - and I actually got it to where I wanted to - but he got that one, so there's nothing you can do about that.''
Jimenez struck out the side again in the fourth but gave up successive doubles to Kevin Pillar and Carrera in the fifth.
The Orioles used a sacrifice fly by Caleb Joseph to make it 4-1 in the sixth.
Carrera doubled in a run in the seventh, and Jones connected off Steve Delabar in the bottom half.
STREAKING
Blue Jays: Toronto has at least one double in 30 straight games and an extra-base hit in all 33 games.
Orioles: Jimenez is 6-0 with a 2.14 ERA in his last seven starts at Camden Yards.
TRAINERS ROOM
Blue Jays: IF Jose Reyes (cracked rib) is expected to take batting practice on Wednesday. He has been on the DL since April 28.
Orioles: 2B Ryan Flaherty left in the third inning with a groin injury. He was activated Friday from the DL (strained groin). ... 2B Jonathan Schoop (right knee sprain) could start baseball activities this week.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: Mark Buehrle makes his third start of the season against the Orioles, looking for his third win against them.
Orioles: Right-hander Chris Tillman starts for the Orioles. He's 0-2 against Toronto and has lost three straight decisions overall.
