Rookie pitcher Jamie Vermilyea is one of few Blue Jays who will take anything positive from a weekend to forget in Baltimore.

Making his major-league debut, the right-hander tossed three shutout innings of relief Sunday afternoon, but it wasn't enough as Toronto fell 7-3 in the series finale at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Miguel Tejada had three hits and drove in three runs to lead the Orioles' attack.
(Nick Wass/Associated Press)

It also wasn't enough to keep him in the big leagues, either, as he was optioned back to triple-A Syracuse after the game in favour of left-hander Brian Tallet, he of the 1.35 earned-run average in seven relief appearances for the Chiefs.

The Blue Jays, losers of five in a row, take their struggling offence and inconsistent pitching to Boston and New York this week for a pair of two-game series against their American League East rivals.

Vermilyea, recalled earlier this week when Jays closer B.J. Ryan was placed on the disabled list, entered the game in the top of the sixth inning with the Orioles holding a commanding 7-1 lead.

He immediately got the Jays out of trouble, inducing Baltimore first baseman Aubrey Huff to ground out with runners at first and third to end the frame.

Vermilyea began the seventh by striking out designated hitter Kevin Millar, who entered the game batting .364 in his previous seven starts.

The Blue Jays showed some fight in the ninth inning with a short-lived two-out rally. Alex Rios cut the deficit to 7-3 with a two-run double before Orioles reliever Brian Burres fanned Adam Lind to end the game.

Nick Markakis and Miguel Tejada drove in three runs apiece for Baltimore, which improved its record to 11-7 with a second consecutive series victory. Toronto slipped to 8-10.

The Jays were outscored 17-9 in its first three-game sweep at Baltimore since May 9-11, 1994.

"They're playing real good over there and we're not right now," said Jays manager John Gibbons. "We're built to slug and that's not happening right now.

"That will happen."

Toronto starter Gustavo Chacin suffered his first loss of the season but looked great early on, retiring the first nine batters he faced.

Outfielder Jay Payton broke up the lefty's no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the fourth inning. Two batters later, Markakis gave Baltimore a 2-1 lead a triple off the centre-field wall.

Chacin was yanked in favour of Victor Zambrano with one out in the fifth after Markakis upped the lead to 4-1 with a run-scoring single to right. The Orioles added three more runs in a bat-around inning.

A slumping Blue Jays offence managed only one earned run on four hits against Baltimore starter Steve Trachsel, who improved to 4-0 lifetime against the Jays.

Second baseman Aaron Hill opened the scoring in the second inning when he clubbed his third home run of the season, a solo shot over the left-field fence. He struck out in his next at-bat with runners on second and third and two outs.

"We're just not doing what we're capable of doing right now," Hill said. "It's definitely not fun for us. Maybe we're pressing too hard because we know we're a better team."

The Jays finished the day with seven hits, which is right in line with their average over the previous eight games. Toronto batters also struck out seven times to make it 62 in the last nine outings.

Tomo Ohka will be seeking his first victory as a Blue Jay in Monday's series opener against Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (2-1) at 7:05 p.m. ET.

"I'm not so sure it's great to go where we're heading," Gibbons said in reference to Boston and Yankee Stadium in New York. "But it's good to get out of here."

With files from the Associated Press