TORONTO – The latter half of the Orioles’ at-bat delivered in the opener of a four-game series in Toronto. On Tuesday night, the top half also showed they have plenty of power.
Ryan Mountcastle hit a three-run home run and later added a two-run shot as Baltimore downed the Blue Jays 10-1 at Rogers Center.
The Blue Jays had just five hits on the night and were outplayed by their division rivals for the second straight game.
“You’ve got to execute your ball,” Toronto coach John Schneider said. “If you’re throwing it in the middle of the zone hoping for a good result, it’s probably not going to happen against Ryan Mountcastle, and if I hit it there, it’s probably not going to happen against me. So we have to put it into action.”
Connor Nobby hit a two-run home run and Gunnar Henderson drove in three runs as Baltimore (39-20) earned its 10th win in 12 games. Adley Rutschman drove in two runs and drove in two runs for the Orioles.
George Springer’s solo home run was the lone error from Baltimore starting pitcher Corbin Burns (6-2) after seven strong innings of pitching. The right-hander allowed four hits and one walk and struck out five.
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“It was a fantastic game,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “(A) The entire game we created is complete.”
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Toronto (28-32) suffered its third loss in four games. The Blue Jays fell to 14-15 at home and 7-9 against American League East opponents.
“The beauty of baseball is tomorrow,” Schneider said. “I think I’ve said that a lot this year.”
With regular starter Alek Manoah out due to injury, reliever Trevor Richards started for the home team. The right-hander pitched two scoreless innings but left the game after throwing 40 pitches.
The Blue Jays gave up a corner kick to Burnes in the second inning, but Daulton Varsho popped up to stop the threat.
Genesis Cabrera (2-2) appeared as a reliever for Toronto, but only got two outs after hitting Colton Cowser with a pitch and walking Henderson. Rutschman drove in Cowser and Mountcastle welcomed Bowden Francis into the game for his ninth home run of the year.
The core of Baltimore’s order flexed its muscles again in the fifth inning.
Henderson doubled to the right field corner, moved to third on a Francis balk, and scored when Rutschman singled. Mountcastle no doubt exploded 443 feet into the second-floor standing room overlooking center field.
Zach Pop, a relief pitcher from Brampton, Ontario, issued consecutive walks to open the seventh inning. Henderson came up with an insurance run, scoring on Anthony Santander’s double.
Springer finally gave the crowd of 28,816 fans something to cheer about when he hit his fifth home run of the year.
Noby, who debuted in Baltimore’s 7-2 win on Monday, homered off Nate Pearson in the eighth inning. It was the first big league hit of his career.
“It was definitely the coolest thing I’ve ever done in baseball,” Norby said. “I slept a lot last night. “I don’t know how much sleep I’ll be able to get tonight after what happened.”
The gameplay took about 2 hours and 39 minutes.
roster movement
The Blue Jays reinstated Francis from the 15-day injured list before the game. He missed 34 games due to right forearm extensor tendonitis.
Right-handed pitcher Ryan Burr was selected by Triple-A Buffalo. Right-hander Joel Kuhnel, who was drafted by the Bisons last Friday, has elected free agency.
tea time
Top prospect Ricky Tiedemann (left elbow) is expected to pitch two innings in live batting practice in Florida this week, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said in a pregame announcement.
The left-handed pitcher was limited to 44 innings last year due to left shoulder and biceps inflammation.
Coming soon
Right-handed pitcher Jose Berrios (5-4, ERA 2.78) was scheduled to make an away start in Toronto on the night of the 27th. The Orioles have not yet named a starting pitcher.
The four-game series concludes with a matinee on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2024.
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© 2024 The Canadian Press
