The Toronto Blue Jays hosted division rival Baltimore Orioles for the first of a four game series as the O’s won with help from the long ball.
Kevin Gausman (4-3, 4.14) was sent to the hill to take on the Grayson Rodriguez (5-2, 3.53) for the Wild Card leading Orioles.
Gausman has been on a roll lately, giving up three runs or less in seven of his last eight starts, but unfortunately for him, tonight spelled a different story. The veteran right hander threw 6 1/3 innings allowing six runs over six hits while walking one and striking out three to take his fourth loss of the year and his first since April 23 against the Kansas City Royals. His opponent was much better, Rodriguez pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on seven hits, walking none and striking out four to receive his sixth win of the year.
The Orioles got on the board first in the top half of the 2nd, Ryan O’Hearn walked, then Anthony Santander went deep, hitting a two run homer to give his club an early 2-0 lead.
The Blue Jays would get one run back in the bottom half, with a Daulton Varsho RBI triple, cutting the lead in half and getting Toronto on the board.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, that score wouldn’t last very long as Baltimore struck back in the top of the 4th. Colton Cowser continued his strong rookie campaign with an RBI double, extending the Orioles’ lead to 3-1. The O’s weren’t done as after that, Austin Hays hit a two run shot to give Baltimore a 5-1 lead.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would hit a solo homer to lead off the bottom half of the 4th, cutting the Toronto deficit to 5-2.
The score would stay the same until the top of the 7th, when Hays hit his second homer of the night, this time a solo shot to extend the Baltimore lead to 6-2.
Ramon Urias would hit a solo homer in the top of the 9th, adding an extra run and giving the Orioles a 7-2 lead.
The Blue Jays would go quietly in the bottom of the 9th as the Orioles took the first game of the series by a final score of 7-2.
With Alek Manoah having been recently placed on the 15 day IL, the Blue Jays have a hole in the fifth spot of their starting rotation. With Manoah not being able to pitch his turn, the starter is undecided for the Blue Jays as they will face Corbin Burnes (5-2, 2.35) for the Orioles tomorrow night.
