April 20th-22nd Toronto Blue Jays @ Baltimore Orioles

[ofhdhdy]

The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: News: Toronto Blue Jays News

After A.J. Burnett's previous start for the Blue Jays, manager John Gibbons succintly described the pitcher's performance with one word.

"Inconsistent," Gibbons said. "He was there and then he'd lose it."

So far, that's been the story of Burnett's season. In his first start on April 4, the right-hander gave up six runs in two innings in a cold and windy loss in Detroit. On April 9, Burnett looked sharp, allowing one run in 6 2/3 frames. He took another step back on Saturday, when he yielded four runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Tigers.

"The big thing with him is he's going to pitch sometimes like that," Gibbons said. "When he's getting his breaking ball over, he can be unhittable. When he's not getting it over, [hitters] can narrow him down a little bit."

Burnett will aim to get his full arsenal back on track on Friday, when Toronto heads to Baltimore to kick off a seven-game road trip, with all the games against American League East foes. After a three-game weekend set against the Orioles, the Blue Jays will play two-game series in both Boston and New York.

The Orioles are sending right-hander Daniel Cabrera to the mound in the opener. Cabrera has done a good job of limiting the walks in his first three starts, posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 4:1 (19 strikeouts, five walks). He has thrown at least seven innings in two of his three starts and has yet to allow a home run.

I want a sweep here but I would be happy with 2 out of 3.

[anne25]

I'm beginning to think the only way the Jays win the next two games is if both starters pitch no hit complete games.