Even when he gets in trouble early, Roy Halladay beats the Orioles.
The Blue Jays ace won his eighth straight decision over Baltimore on last night, as Toronto dropped their division rivals 8-4 at the Rogers Centre. It was Toronto's first game against an American League East opponent this season. Halladay, 5-1 on the year, now has 19 career victories against Baltimore, more than any other team.
Yesterday, the right-hander allowed 10 hits over eight innings while striking out six.
Scott Downs pitched a scoreless ninth for Toronto and former Orioles' first baseman Kevin Millar had three RBIs.
After giving up a two-run homer to Nick Markakis in the first, Halladay cruised through the Orioles line-up until the eighth, when Baltimore scored twice to make it a two-run game at 6-4.
But Toronto answered back with RBIs from Adam Lind and Millar in the bottom half of the inning to restore the four-run lead.
The Orioles started the game with a battery of former Blue Jays , as Gregg Zaun caught for lefty Mark Hendrickson (1-4).
Zaun, who entered the game hitting a paltry .111 on the season, smacked two hard singles against his old team. He received a hearty ovation from the 20,202 in attendance while strolling up the plate for his first at-bat in the second inning in appreciation his five seasons in Toronto. He signed with Baltimore as a free agent in the off-season.
Lind's RBI in the eighth gives him a team-leading 22 RBIs on the year.
