TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays really needed a date with a pushover Monday after returning from a gruelling 10-game road trip with an exhausted bullpen, and the schedule just happened to bring over their favourite one.
Baseball's worst team was once again the cure for all that ailed their hosts, offering up little resistance as Brandon Morrow, Aaron Hill and Jose Bautista led the way in a 9-5 victory.
Hill opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second and later added a two-run homer, Bautista put the game out of reach with a three-run blast in the fifth and Adam Lind also went deep as the Blue Jays (51-49) improved to 10-0 versus the Baltimore Orioles this season.
The offensive outburst was especially timely given that Morrow (7-6), throwing on eight days rest after being skipped to keep his innings total down, was limited to about 100 pitches, and that manager Cito Gaston only had two relievers available in his bullpen.
Morrow made it through six innings -- allowing only a two-run blast to Matt Weiters in his final frame -- and handed over an 8-2 lead. That was enough cushion for Casey Janssen, who gave up Luke Scott's two-run shot in the seventh and a solo blast to Weiters in the eighth, and David Purcey, who got the final four outs for his first career save.
The Blue Jays were beaten up after their 6-4 road trip was capped by a day-night doubleheader Sunday that they split with the Detroit Tigers. They returned to Toronto around 1 a.m., and then got right back to it before a crowd of 17,422 enjoying the '80s night theme.
A good team would have pounced on the Jays, but the Orioles (31-68) are so awful just getting to bad would be an achievement.
Brad Bergesen (3-9) gave up a season-high eight earned runs over five innings in losing his fifth straight start.
The Blue Jays broke things open in the fourth when Lind's RBI double made it 2-0 and Hill followed with a two-run shot that doubled the lead. Bautista's three-run shot, his 28th homer of the season, made it 7-0 and a batter later, Lind added his 14th.
After the Orioles closed the gap to 8-5, Fred Lewis added some extra insurance with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth.
Notes: The Blue Jays will officially announce their starter for Wednesday after Tuesday's contest, it's expected to be Brad Mills, who was scratched from his outing for triple-A Las Vegas. INF Mike McCoy is likely to be sent down, with OF Travis Snider to be recalled from double-A New Hampshire after Mills' outing. ... Orioles 1B Ty Wigginton was a late scratch after MLB ruled against his suspension appeal but reduced his ban to two games from three. Jake Fox took his place in the lineup. ... The Blue Jays return to their regular rotation after Wednesday, with Shaun Marcum, Brett Cecil and Jesse Litsch scheduled to pitch the weekend series versus Cleveland.
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