Battle of the Birds: 5 best moments of Blue Jays-Orioles rivalry
It will be a do-or-die encounter between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.
The division foes will compete in the AL wild-card game at Rogers Centre to determine who will move on to face the Texas Rangers in the ALDS on Thursday. Baseball fans would be hard-pressed to find a better one-game showdown, as games between the two clubs have played host to a lot of bad blood in recent years.
Here are some of the best moments of the Blue Jays-Orioles rivalry:
"You talk too much"
In June 2013, Jose Bautista didn't appreciate Darren O'Day flaunting his strikeout of the slugger. So, in true Bautista fashion, the Blue Jays outfielder struck back the very next day, connecting on a two-run home run in the eighth inning off O'Day and motioning for the pitcher to quiet down as he headed home.
Bautista vs. O'Day: The Sequel
This intense rivalry isn't complete without several entries of the Bautista-O'Day saga. Two years after the first chapter in their feud, Bautista made O'Day pay for brushing him with an inside pitch, skipping out of the batters box after crushing a two-run shot on the very next pitch.
Bautista gets revenge ... again
Jason Garcia might have made an enemy for life in April 2015, when the then-Orioles rookie sailed a pitch behind Bautista in the seventh inning of a 11-4 blowout. Bautista retaliated quickly, though, mashing a - you guessed it - two-run homer in the same at-bat while exchanging words with some Orioles as he rounded the bases.
Related: Blue Jays, Orioles talk AL East rivalry
Stroman suspended for headhunting
After Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph looked to step on the hand of Jose Reyes on a slide home, Marcus Stroman retaliated during the backstop's next at-bat by sending a high fastball past Joseph that just missed his head. Both benches were issued warnings in the incident, though Stroman later received a six-game suspension for the dangerous throw.
Home heartbreak
The Orioles crushed the Blue Jays' playoff hopes in 2014 when they clinched the AL East with a 8-2 win over Toronto. In a recurring theme in their rivalry, the Blue Jays repaid the favor in full a year later, as they secured their first division title in 22 years with a 15-2 drubbing at Camden Yards.
(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)