TORONTO _ Going into Tuesday night's start against the Toronto Blue Jays, Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy acknowledged he's struggled finding answers to his recent struggles.
Bundy's performance at the Rogers Centre _ a third consecutive start in which he allowed seven earned runs and failed to get out of the sixth innings _ was another head-scratcher in the Orioles' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays.
Bundy failed to get a batter out in the fifth inning Tuesday night after allowing back-to-back homers. With three homers allowed Tuesday, his major league leading total increased to 33. Bundy's night ended with him hunched over in the Orioles dugout staring at the ground after another middle-innings exit.
The Orioles (37-89), now 52 games under .500, are one loss away from going winless at Rogers Centre this season. They enter Wednesday's afternoon series finale 0-9 in Toronto this season, and have lost 11 of 12 to the Blue Jays overall.
Mixing pitches is what made Bundy effective, and going into Tuesday, he said he'd like to throw his curveball and changeup more often. But those two pitches accounted for just 16 of his 72 pitches.
It might not have made a difference because his execution was poor, leaving far too many balls up in the zone, including on two of the three homers he allowed.
The Orioles defense didn't help. Second baseman Jonathan Villar dropped a popup in shallow right field by the second batter in the bottom of the first.
Newly acquired left fielder John Andreoli, making his first start with the Orioles, looked uncomfortable in left field. He misplayed a leadoff single off the bat of Kendrys Morales in Toronto's three-run fourth. Third baseman Renato Nunez booted a grounder that prolonged that inning.
Still, Bundy (7-12) did little to help his own cause, allowing 10 hits.
Over his past three starts, Bundy has seen his ERA balloon nearly a full run, from 4.38 to 5.31. In his eight starts since returning from the disabled list, Bundy owns a 9.08 ERA.
Bundy hung a 1-2 slider to Aledmys Diaz with one out in the second inning, allowing a solo homer that gave the Blue Jays a two-run lead.
After Billy McKinney's two-run single fueled a three-run fourth inning, Bundy lasted just three pitches into the fifth. Justin Smoak hit a first-pitch, 91-mph fastball that caught too much of the outer part of the plate the opposite way for a home run. Two pitches later, Morales also went the other way, taking an elevated changeup over the left-field fence.
Orioles reliever Ryan Meisinger allowed a homer in the fifth to McKinney, a solo blast that was his first big league home run.
Blue Jays starter Sam Gaviglio held the Orioles to two runs on six hits over seven innings. After allowing Trey Mancini's one-out single in the third, Gaviglio allowed just one hit, a solo homer to rookie Cedric Mullins.
Orioles first baseman Chris Davis was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
