TORONTO — Yovani Gallardo retraced the ugly events of a seven-run fifth inning that chased him from the Orioles' 9-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday at Rogers Centre.
The Orioles right-hander held a dangerous Toronto lineup scoreless for 4 1/3 innings until he allowed a home run to second baseman Devon Travis to tie the game at 1 on a full-count fastball that caught too much of the plate. But it was the back-to-back walks to Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson that signaled the beginning of the end for Gallardo.
"After that, I just kind of let things get in my head a little bit," Gallardo said.
Both players came around to score. Bautista scored on Edwin Encarnacion's double, and after an intentional walk to Michael Saunders loaded the bases, Mychal Givens entered the game and walked Troy Tulowitzki, which allowed Donaldson to trot home.
"[Struggled with] my command more than anything, falling behind guys in that situation," Gallardo said. "I just wasn't able to get ahead of guys, got a little bit away from the game plan I had a little that inning. Had a battle with my command there even since the first inning."
Gallardo issued a season-high five walks, although one was intentional. Walks have haunted Gallardo throughout the season, with a walk rate of 5.15 per nine innings ranking third highest in the American League among pitchers with 50 innings or more. Only teammate Ubaldo Jimenez (5.50) and the Houston Astros' Lance McCullers (5.19) have walked more. Gallardo has issued four or more walks in four of his last five starts, with 19 in 28 innings.
"When it's not your day, it's not your day," Gallardo said. "At the end of the day, it just starts with the walks for me. Walking back-to-back guys, that can't happen."
Ondrusek pitches scoreless inning in debut: Reliever Logan Ondrusek entered his Orioles debut Saturday having not pitched in a game in more than a month, his abrupt departure from the Japanese Central League's Yakult Swallows somewhat of a mystery.
But now Ondrusek, who has pitched parts of five years with the Cincinnati Reds, suddenly finds himself in a pennant race because of the Orioles' need for a reliever to get left-handed hitters out. And in his debut in Saturday's 9-1 loss to the Blue Jays, Ondrusek retired all three batters he faced, striking out one, in a scoreless sixth inning.
"I'm happy to be here," Ondrusek said. "It's a great opportunity for me and the team's been doing really well and it's nice to join a contender. I'm ready to go. It's funny how things work out. I had a little disagreement over in Japan and it was kind of obvious we were going in two separate directions, so I had an opportunity to come back to the States and I took advantage of it."
Since trading Brian Matusz, the Orioles have been seeking a reliever to get lefties out, a search that dipped deep into the minor league system before the team arrived at Ondrusek.
Ondrusek is a right-hander, but has held lefties to a .236 average over his major league career.
"It's just a mix of throwing everything at them," Ondrusek said. "I like to throw cutters and splits and that's what I've kind of done throughout my career as soon as I learned the cutter. I took that over to Japan and it started becoming a good out pitch for me and I hope to keep that going here. Like I said, I've been lucky to have some success against them and I hope to keep that going."
Ondrusek hasn't pitched in a game since June 26, but he said he's been working out and throwing bullpen sessions to stay fresh.
"It's just matter of getting back out there and doing it now because it's been a while since I've been on a big league mound," he said. "But I don't see a problem with it. It's just figuring out the hitters and executing. It's been a while since game action, but at the same time, I've been in the bullpen working on things I needed to work on and I feel pretty good about it."
As for his departure from Japan?
"It was just a bad day at the office and a little blow up afterwards," he said. "Things kind of escalated and they decided they didn't like how it went and that's pretty much what it boils down to."
Rickard recovering well: Manager Buck Showalter remains optimistic that outfielder Joey Rickard — who was expected to miss four to six weeks with a torn ligament in his right thumb he injured July 20 — is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Rickard has a follow-up appointment Monday and could get the bulky splint he's been wearing on his right hand removed.
"I tell you Monday is a big day if they get the splint off," Showalter said. "They've gotten most of the swelling out of there which is unusual. I'm hoping for positive news and maybe push up that date a little bit on Monday."
Rickard injured his thumb hitting the right-field wall at Yankee Stadium while chasing a fly ball and thought he'd be in the brace for three weeks. An accelerated return could help the club's outfield depth down the stretch. The Orioles have just two outfielders on the bench with Hyun Soo Kim and Nolan Reimold splitting starts against right-handed and left-handed starters, respectively.
Around the horn: The Orioles' starting pitching is slated to stay in turn after Monday's day off with Dylan Bundy set to start Tuesday's series opener against the Texas Rangers at home, followed by Kevin Gausman on Wednesday and Gallardo on Thursday. Chris Tillman, who will pitch Sunday in Toronto, would be on turn to start Friday in Chicago. Because of the off day, the Orioles don't need a fifth starter until Saturday in Chicago.