TORONTO - The Orioles closed their clubhouse doors before batting practice yesterday so they could cast their votes for the American League All-Star team.
Two first-time candidates were sitting right in their midst.
Sidney Ponson and Melvin Mora continued to make their case last night, as the Orioles dismantled the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-2, before 37,248 at SkyDome.
Ponson (10-4) turned in his third complete game of the season, allowing 10 hits but no walks against Toronto's powerful lineup. He has won nine of his past 11 starts.
Mora returned after missing four games with a bruised right hand, looking like he never missed a beat. The American League's leading hitter, Mora went 3-for-5 and raised his batting average to .366.
The Orioles grabbed a first-inning lead against Toronto starter Cory Lidle (10-5) with the first of three run-scoring hits by Jay Gibbons. They led 7-0 by the fifth inning and cruised to their third victory in four games.
Then the All-Star questions started coming. Ponson? Mora? "I think they both deserve it," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said.
Sitting five games below .500, with a roster full of relatively unknown players, the Orioles may only have one All-Star again for the third consecutive season. Last year it was Tony Batista. In 2001 it was Cal Ripken.
"I'm not worried about it," Ponson said. "If they call me, I've got to go, but if they don't I'll have three days' vacation."
"I think I deserve it," Ponson added. "But it's not my choice. I think Melvin deserves it, and Jay Gibbons deserves it for sure. And [Jeff Conine]. Those guys play every day; I think they deserve it more than I do. I only pitch once every five days. They're the backbone of the team."
Major League Baseball has restructured its All-Star selection process this year, giving players, coaches and managers the chance to vote. Fans will still pick the starters, based on the popular vote, but the official ballot doesn't include Mora, who wasn't on the Orioles' Opening Day roster, or Ponson, because he's a pitcher.
Now, teams get to pick the All-Star reserves. The Orioles filled out individual ballots yesterday, picking the top player at each position, a designated hitter, five starting pitchers and three relievers.
Teams are allowed to make selections from their own clubhouse, and the Orioles would be hard-pressed to overlook Mora, whose production has carried them through the first half.
After going hitless in his first two at-bats last night, Mora doubled, singled and hit his 11th home run.
"I don't think about that [All-Star selection]," Mora said. "I'm just thinking about beating [the Blue Jays]. They're in the same division."
The AL and NL will each have 32 players on their roster, with two of those spots reserved for starting pitchers, who will be available to pitch long into an extra-inning game. That was done to help prevent a debacle like last year, when the All-Star Game ended in a 7-7 tie.
Ponson could be just the type of pitcher AL manager Mike Scioscia needs. He looks increasingly durable; last night marked the eighth time in 15 starts he has finished the seventh inning. He finished with five strikeouts and threw 80 of his 118 pitches for strikes.
He is also the first Orioles pitcher to have 10 wins before the All-Star break since Mike Mussina had 11 in 1999.
It has been quite a rise for Ponson, who has only reached double figures in victories one other time in his career, when he was 12-12 in 1999.
"I don't think any of us went into this year anticipating [Ponson's All-Star candidacy]," Hargrove said.
"We certainly have known for a long time that he has the talent to be that type of pitcher. It's good to see. He deserves it. It may not happen, but he certainly has the numbers for it."
Ponson lowered his ERA to 3.76. But the real surprise has been his run support. He entered last night ranked 19th among major league pitchers with 6.13 runs per nine innings. The Orioles have scored five or more runs in 11 of his 15 starts.
After coming from a three runs down to win Tuesday's game, 6-4, the Orioles took control early this time.
Brian Roberts (bruised right knee) and Luis Matos (forehead welt) both got shaken up with injuries in the third inning as the Orioles built a 3-0 lead, but both stayed in the game.
Banged up and bruised, the Orioles broke things open with a four-run fifth inning. Gibbons, who tripped and fell after beating out an infield single in the first inning, raised his team-leading RBI total to 57.
Ponson kept his focus, even though the game was delayed three times as a total of five fans ran onto the SkyDome field. "Until people get punished severely for it," Hargrove said, "it's going to keep happening."
Orioles tonight
Opponent: Toronto Blue Jays
Site: SkyDome, Toronto
Time: 7:05
TV/Radio: Comcast SportsNet/WBAL (1090 AM)
Starters: Orioles' Rodrigo Lopez (1-4, 6.64) vs. Blue Jays' Mark Hendrickson (5-5, 5.40)
