HBT: Oriole accuses Jays of stealing signs?

Jason Hammel came into yesterday?s game with a 2.78 ERA and just three homers allowed in nine starts this season, but the Orioles right-hander served up four homers to the Blue Jays and afterward got about as close to accusing them of stealing signs as he could possibly get without actually doing it.

Here?s what Hammel told Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun:

They?re a very potent offense and if you don?t make your pitches down they?re going to get them out. They were taking some pretty big hacks on my breaking stuff too, which leads me to believe it was something else. It is what it is. I need to keep the ball down.

When you?re locating your fastball, you?re going to give up some home runs there, but the swings they were taking on he breaking stuff, it was pretty amazing to me. I don?t think you can take swings like that not knowing they?re coming. I don?t know. That?s all I can say.

This is far from the first time an opposing pitcher has accused the Blue Jays of stealing signs in Toronto and in fact Amy K. Nelson wrote a whole article about it in ESPN The Magazine a couple years ago, making ?the man in white? famous.

When asked if he was aware of the past accusations, Hammel replied:

There?s rumors and things like that. I don?t know. I can?t speak on that, but they were taking very, very big strong hacks on breaking stuff. It was something I?ve never seen before.

Hammel has started 125 career games. Not only was that the first time he?s allowed four homers, he?d allowed three homers just twice before and gave up zero homers in 65 of those 125 starts.

Toronto has hit .262 with an .803 OPS at home this season, compared to .231 with a .660 OPS on the road. Their splits weren?t quite as extreme last season, but the Blue Jays hit .254 with a .759 OPS at home compared to .244 with a .699 OPS on the road. So ? if they are stealing signs at home the Blue Jays are at least doing a pretty effective job of it.

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