The Orioles had the chance to host the Blue Jays for the first time this season. After a very tough fought series, the O’s eventually dropped this three-game set, one that could be deemed as a home run derby for the Orioles.
Thomas Eshelman was called on to make an emergency start, and he had maybe the best start of his career in orange and black. Dean Kremer also showed a lot of improvements, delivering a quality start in a game that should have been won.
Here is a breakdown of what happened this weekend!
Game 1:
T-shirt nights have returned! Finally, as the COVID-19 pandemic is coming to an end, the Orioles are beginning to bring back their fan giveaways. For Friday’s game, the goodie was a Cedric Mullins T-shirt! Keep that name in mind.
Unfortunately for Bruce Zimmermann, he was scratched of his start in this game due to bicep tendinitis and was placed on the 10-day I.L. In his place was Thomas Eshelman, who was recalled Friday morning.
Eshelman, who has struggled mightily in his time with the Orioles and the minor league system, came up and delivered a gem against a fiery Blue Jays lineup. Through 4.2 innings, Eshelman allowed only three hits and one run, which came off a solo home run by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Between the power bats of Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, and Vlad Guerrero Jr., this trio went a whopping 0-for-6 against Eshelman!
Remember that guy Cedric Mullins? Yeah, he had a pretty good game!
To start things of quick on his t-shirt night, Mullins annihilated a 94 mph fastball that sat over the middle of the plate. His 10th home run on the year gave the Orioles an early 1-0 lead.
Heading into the fifth, this game was tied at one. Austin Hays came through against Robbie Ray, dropping a bloop single in front of the left fielder that scored Pat Valaika. This gave the Orioles the 2-1 lead.
In relief of Eshelman was Tyler Wells. And man, has he impressed everyone lately! The Rule 5 pick went 1.1 innings in this game, while striking out two batters on his way to his second win of the season.
Now in the eighth, the Orioles offense exploded. Just like we said in the series preview, a close game with the Blue Jays bullpen making an appearance is a good sight for the Orioles. And a good sight it was!
It all started with Freddy Galvis, when he doubled home Ryan Mountcastle. That was followed by a single from Maikel Franco, scoring Galvis in the process.
Guess what happened next? CEDRIC MULLINS!
With two men on, Mullins turned on another 94 mph fastball, this one good for an Earl Weaver Special! His second home run on his t-shirt night gave the Orioles a 7-1 lead that lasted through the end of the night. Have a game, Cedric!
The Orioles took game one of this series 7-1. The Baltimore Battery’s Player of the Game is Cedric Mullins, without question. He went 3-for-4, with his two home runs that were good for four RBI. Oh, he also received MVP chants, as well as a curtain call!
Game 2:
This game was a roller coaster. It had home runs, a benches-clearing brawl, a pitcher ejection, and unfortunately for the Orioles, a bullpen implosion.
Much like his last start, Dean Kremer struggled through the first inning. Two Blue Jay home runs in the first gave Toronto an early 2-0 lead. However, after this first inning, Kremer was in the zone. He didn’t allow another run and only let up one more hit on his way to six innings of work.
On this day, Ryan Mountcastle had the game of his life. One day after Cedric Mullins went yard twice on his t-shirt night, Mountcastle followed that up with a 4-for-4 day, including three home runs! His first long ball in the second inning cut the deficit to 2-1.
Remember Cedric Mullins? He’s unstoppable! In the third, he launched his third home run in two games, tying this game at two.
In the fourth, things got very interesting. Once again Mountcastle homered, and that was followed by a monster shot by DJ Stewart. In frustration, Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah threw at Maikel Franco, which cleared the benches.
Brandon Hyde came running out of the dugout with a face full of fury, while nice guy, Trey Mancini, did all he could to separate the two teams. It was quite a sight! Manoah, rightfully, was thrown out of this game.
Enter Mountcastle again. In his third at-bat in the sixth inning, he launched his third home run of the game! This was his 12th home run on the year, and it extended the lead to 6-2.
The Blue Jays would get one back in the seventh; however, Cedric Mullins would have an answer. He AGAIN went yard, his second on the day. This was his fourth multi-home run game and his second in a row! Wow!
Leading 7-4 going into the ninth, things got disgusting. The combination of Paul Fry and Tyler Wells allowed six runs in that ninth inning, all with two outs. The Blue Jays took the lead at 10-7. This was a heartbreaker.
The Orioles dropped this game after leading by four runs. Paul Fry took the loss and moved to 0-2.
The Baltimore Battery’s Player of the Game is Ryan Mountcastle. This is an easy choice. His three home runs in this game were electric, and he even added that final single to go 4-for-4.
Game 3:
The Orioles entered this rubber match with a chance to win their first series since the first week of June.
Matt Harvey was on the mound, and, for a while, he looked to finally turn thing around. He allowed no runs through the first four innings, holding onto a one-run lead.
That one run came in the first inning, when Trey Mancini joined the home run party with his 13th on the year to dead center. This was also his 99th on his career. More on that later.
Now in the fifth, the Matt Harvey of the last two months came out to play. Four runs were scored by the Blue Jays, by way of three singles and a double. Just like that, the Orioles trailed 4-1.
Now in the eighth, this game was more or less out of reach at 6-1. Pedro Severino then came to bat, and he launched a screaming line drive over the wall in left. This solo shot made it a 6-2 game.
Still in the eighth, with Pat Valaika on base, Trey Mancini hit a milestone. He launched his 14th home run on the year, which is also good for his 100th in his career! Good Job Trey! You are amazing! This also made it three straight games for the Orioles where three different players had a multi-home run game in three consecutive games.
The Jays added one more in the ninth and took this game 7-4 and the series. Matt Harvey once again took the loss and moved to 3-9.
The Baltimore Battery’s Player of the Game is Trey Mancini. His two home runs provided a bulk of the offense, while he also reached a personal milestone that every baseball fan should have been proud of!
The O’s move on and get ready to play the Houston Trashcans… ahem… the Houston Astros for a three-game series. This will be an interesting series to say the least.
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