Orioles edge Blue Jays, 1-0, in final game of regular season, prepare to face Tigers

By Eduardo Encina, The Baltimore Sun

Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014 | 6:41 p.m.

TORONTO — Orioles manager Buck Showalter wanted to get the usual starting lineup on the field for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

The game was meaningless. The innings weren’t.

After spending the last few days picking his spots to give his starters rest before the American League Division Series starts Thursday, Showalter believed it was important to get his collective group of starters on the field one more time before the lights get brighter under the postseason spotlight.

The Orioles played Sunday’s game still not knowing their opponent in the ALDS. While division titles and wild-card spots came down to the final game of the season, the Orioles were just getting their work in north of the border.

Both the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals were playing at the same time.

The Tigers, who entered the final game of the season with a one-game lead over Kansas City, clinched the AL Central with a 3-0 win over the Minnesota Twins. So they’ll head to Camden Yards to open the ALDS on Thursday against the Orioles.

The Orioles had just five hits Sunday, but all they needed was second baseman Jonathan Schoop’s 16th homer of the season, a solo shot off Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey in the fifth inning, in a 1-0 victory over the Blue Jays in front of an announced 45,901.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Orioles (96-66) and ensured their first season of 30 games above .500 since 1997. It was the Orioles’ 12th shutout win of the season and just their second 1-0 victory. They ended the regular season 32-23 in one-run games.

Schoop’s homer gave the Orioles 211 on the season, the most in the major leagues by 25 ahead of the second-place Colorado Rockies. The Orioles have hit 200 homers for three straight years for the first time in club history.

Starter Miguel Gonzalez tossed five scoreless innings, allowing five hits while striking out two batters and walking none.

In three starts against the Blue Jays this season — all at Rogers Centre — Gonzalez was 2-0 with a 1.62 ERA. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his last eight starts, going 5-3 with a 1.86 ERA over that span.

Showalter also wanted to give his key relief pitchers work before a three-day layoff.

Right hander Ubaldo Jimenez threw an inning in relief. Jimenez recovered from a leadoff fielding error by Ryan Flaherty — the seventh error committed by an Orioles third baseman in the last 10 games — retiring the Blue Jays’ 3-4-5 hitters by striking out the side and stranding the tying run at second base.

Relievers Andrew Miller, Tommy Hunter, Darren O’Day and Zach Britton — the key components of the Orioles’ late-inning strategy — all pitched. Britton worked for his second straight day, again to simulate what could be needed in the playoffs.

Britton allowed the tying run on base in the ninth when Edwin Encarnacion singled to lead off the inning, but pinch hitter Danny Valencia lined out to first baseman Steve Pearce, who then tagged pinch runner Juan Francisco for a double play. Britton then struck out Dalton Pompey swinging to end the game.