masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgFor the Orioles, this was a not-so-sweet 16.

Toronto defeated the Orioles 4-1 to take the first two games of this series, beating the Orioles for the 16th consecutive time at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles have not won there since Aug. 7, 2009.

The Orioles have lost 21 of their last 22 and 25 of the last 27 games in Toronto.

Gary Thorne talks with Buck Showalter about the Birds’ 4-1 loss to Toronto

Ricky Romero improved to 6-6 and took a three-hit shutout to the ninth. He was pulled after…For the Orioles, this was a not-so-sweet 16.

Toronto defeated the Orioles 4-1 to take the first two games of this series, beating the Orioles for the 16th consecutive time at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles have not won there since Aug. 7, 2009.

The Orioles have lost 21 of their last 22 and 25 of the last 27 games in Toronto.

Gary Thorne talks with Buck Showalter about the Birds’ 4-1 loss to Toronto

Ricky Romero improved to 6-6 and took a three-hit shutout to the ninth. He was pulled after walked the first two hitters and charged with a run when Matt Wieters hit an RBI single off Frank Francisco. But Derrek Lee then grounded into a game-ending double play.

The Orioles best chance to score early on came in the top of the fourth. J.J Hardy led off with a double and Nick Markakis walked. But the threat quickly ended when Adam Jones struck out and Vlad Guerrero hit into a double play.

Hardy doubled in the fourth for his only hit of the night and that extended his batting streak to seven games.

All of the Blue Jays’ runs came on homers. Yunel Escobar led off the game with a blast to left off Jake Arrieta and Juan Rivera added a solo shot in the sixth. Adam Lind hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Clay Rapada.

In his last three games against the Orioles, Lind is 8-for-11 with four homers and seven RBIs.

Toronto is 19-4 against the Orioles since the start of the 2010 season and has out-homered the Orioles 44-12 in those 23 games.

The Orioles fall to 30-35 and have lost four in a row. They are now 9-18 in games against the American League East and have lost five straight series within the division.

In the series finale, Thursday afternoon at 12:37 p.m. Jeremy Guthrie pitches for the Orioles. He is 2-8 with an ERA of 3.77. Righty Zach Stewar, 24, will make his major league debut for Toronto. He went 4-3 with an ERA of 4.39 this year for Double-A New Hampshire.