Blue Jays Rally to Win

A winter of retooling doesn’t seem to have improved the Baltimore Orioles.

Shannon Stewart singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat the struggling Orioles, 7-6, Friday night at Toronto.

The Orioles, with a $78-million payroll that’s the second-highest in the major leagues, are 3-7 and off to their worst start since 1993. Baltimore wasted leads of 2-0, 5-3 and 6-5, losing for the fourth time in five games.

The only games the Orioles have won this season are when staff ace Mike Mussina starts.

“With the way were swinging the bat we should be .500,” Oriole Manager Ray Miller said. “We have to get more production out of our pitching.”

With the score 6-6, Ricky Bones (0-1) walked Alex Gonzalez and Pat Kelly with one out in the eighth, and Stewart singled to right as Gonzalez scored easily.

“There are no excuses for those walks,” Miller said.

Bones also gave up a game-tying single in the seventh to Tony Fernandez.

Cal Ripken, who has five errors and is hitting just .174, failed to start for the third time this season. While the first two were due to a bad back, Ripken said Thursday night he was feeling fine and had no explanation for a double error against the New York Yankees that led to five unearned runs.

Graeme Lloyd (2-0) allowed one hit in 1 1/3 innings and Robert Person, who came off the disabled list on Monday, got the final out by throwing a called third strike past Albert Belle.

AROUND THE LEAGUE / Strawberry Still Silent

With his team still trying to sort out the facts, Darryl Strawberry was in seclusion, two days after he was charged with cocaine possession and soliciting a prostitute in Tampa, Fla.

It was unclear who will represent the eight-time All-Star, charged with possession of 0.3 grams of cocaine and offering an undercover female officer $50 for sex.

Following Strawberry’s release on $6,000 bond, his agent Eric Grossman referred callers to Tampa lawyer Mike Tonelli. There also is a chance Strawberry will be represented by Joseph Ficarotta, Dwight Gooden’s lawyer during a 1997 dispute with a Texas taxi driver that was settled for $130,000.

No court date was scheduled for the latest charges, the prosecutor’s office said. Neither Tonelli nor Ficarotta returned repeated telephone calls.

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Toronto pitcher Joey Hamilton, hit hard in his first two starts, was put on the 15-day disabled list because of an injured shoulder. Hamilton (0-2) allowed 15 earned runs in seven innings. Toronto recalled right-hander Nerio Rodriguez from triple-A Syracuse. . . .The Boston Red Sox recalled Creighton Gubanich from Pawtucket of the International League and activated designated hitter Reggie Jefferson, who was on the 15-day disabled list. First baseman Brian Daubach was optioned to Pawtucket. Boston also moved left-hander Brian Barkley from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list because of back problems.