It’s becoming pretty clear that the Baltimore Orioles are going to be a thorn in the Toronto Blue Jays side for years to come, as Toronto drops their second straight game facing the Orioles in a 10-1 loss.
Baltimore plated along 10 runs total while only collecting nine hits. Well-known Jays killer Ryan Mountcastle was back at it again. Mountcastle homered twice in today’s game, driving in five runs, and now has 17 career homer runs against Toronto, with an above .350 batting average.
Orioles top prospect Connor Norby also went deep for his first career Major League Baseball hit. Norby hit nine home runs in Triple-A before being called up yesterday.
Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander also drove in runs as Baltimore’s lineup continues to rake.
All this came in a bullpen day for Toronto, as this initially was Alek Manoah’s spot in the rotation, but the RHP was recently put on the 15-day IL due to a right elbow sprain.
Trevor Richards started the game and pitched well, going two innings and striking out four. Richards’s changeup continues to be a weapon for the reliever, as his ERA now sits at 2.97.
Things took a turn for the worst when Génesis Cabrera entered the game, allowing three runs between an Adley Rutschman single and one of Mountcastle’s homers.
Bowden Francis, who was called up today, was scheduled to be the bulk guy and try to last four innings. Francis could not get to the four-innings mark and gave up four earned runs in 3.1 innings. When Francis has pitched over 3 innings this season, he’s given up 20 earned runs between four outings (16.1 innings total).
Zach Pop and Nate Pearson also allowed three more runs, but the game seemed to be over at this point. The reason was that Toronto’s offence went cold yet again.
Toronto’s lone run came from George Springer hitting a solo home run off Orioles SP Corbin Burns in the seventh. Springer has found his hitting stride lately, hitting .348/.500/.582 over the last week.
For the Orioles rotation, Corbin Burnes is at his peak right now, going seven innings in his last two starts and only allowing one run during that span. Against Toronto this year, Burnes has only allowed two earned runs in 13 innings.
Two straight beatdowns by your division rival doesn’t help for any confidence, Toronto can’t make any excuses for their lack of fight against a powerhouse. Baltimore has a plus 14 run differential in just two games, and even worse, Toronto has managed just three runs in the series.
While Toronto’s 7-9 record against the A.L. East doesn’t seem too bad, the Blue Jays have now lost five of their last six matchups against their division rivals.
At best, Toronto can split the series, but the pitching matchups don’t favour the Jays too well. Baltimore will send SP Albert Suárez (2-0, 1.53) to face Blue Jays SP José Berríos (5-4, 2.94). Since Suárez has transitioned into a starter, he’s allowed one run in nine innings.
