masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgFollowing last night’s win in Washington, I approached Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph at his locker and asked about his hot streak. I started to recite his numbers over his past nine games. I had the average memorized.

Joseph smiled and said, “Oh no.”

Worried about a jinx? No reason.

Joseph has homered in three straight games, and the Orioles are leading the Blue Jays 4-0 in the fourth inning at Rogers Centre.

Joseph is 12-for-32 (.375) in his last 10 games.

Jonathan Schoop followed…Following last night’s win in Washington, I approached Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph at his locker and asked about his hot streak. I started to recite his numbers over his past nine games. I had the average memorized.

Joseph smiled and said, “Oh no.”

Worried about a jinx? No reason.

Joseph has homered in three straight games, and the Orioles are leading the Blue Jays 4-0 in the fourth inning at Rogers Centre.

Joseph is 12-for-32 (.375) in his last 10 games.

Jonathan Schoop followed Joseph’s home run in the fourth inning with one of his own.

The Orioles already have 10 hits off Toronto left-hander Mark Buehrle through four innings. Delmon Young has two of them, along with an RBI and a run scored. He’s got to stay in the lineup.

Young’s single past former Oriole Danny Valencia, who replaced Brett Lawrie at third base in the fourth, increased the lead to 4-0. Lawrie came out of the game with tightness in his back.

J.J. Hardy’s RBI double in the third scored Young to break a scoreless tie. I know it’s hard to ignore Hardy’s home run total this season, but he’s still coming up with big hits and playing outstanding defense at shortstop.

Nick Markakis has two more hits off Buehrle tonight. He’s 22-for-47 (.468) off the southpaw.

The Orioles have left seven runners on base in four innings, but it’s not an issue at the moment.

Bud Norris limped off the mound after recording the final out in the third. He came back out for the fourth, but it’s worth monitoring.

Update: Colby Rasmus hit a two-run homer off Norris in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Orioles’ lead to 4-2.

Buehrle is done after four innings. The Orioles already are in Toronto’s bullpen.

Down on the farm, Dylan Bundy threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings tonight at Single-A Frederick, allowing five hits, walking none and striking out seven.

Update II: Chris Davis homered off reliever Aaron Sanchez in the fifth to increase the lead to 5-2.

Before tonight, Davis was a career .303/.382/.660 hitter in 69 games against the Blue Jays and .347/.441/.703 in 28 games at Rogers Centre.

Davis’ 23 homers and 57 RBIs, including tonight, are the most against any team. He’s got nine homers and 24 RBIs in Toronto.

Update III: Nelson Cruz snapped a 1-for-34 slump with an RBI single in the sixth to give the Orioles a 6-2 lead.

Remember when the Orioles couldn’t score?

Update IV: The Orioles are still scoring. They added three runs in the eighth to lead 9-3.

Cruz and Davis each have two RBIs tonight.

Update V: The Orioles move 16 games above .500 with tonight’s 9-3 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles’ lead in the American League East grows to five games, their widest margin since 1997. Are they ready to run away with the division?

The nine runs are the most scored by the Orioles since a 9-4 win over the Astros on June 1.

The Orioles have won three straight games in three different cities. Happens all the time, right?