The Orioles visited Rogers Centre for the first time since 2019 to face the Blue Jays. And during this series, the O’s did something they seldom do in that stadium, win a game.
This was a hard fought series, with each game ending in a tight contest. The Orioles managed a two-run victory in game two, while losing game three on a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Guess who hit said walk-off? If you guessed Randal Grichuk, you would be correct!
For both teams, the starters pitched well in this series. Chris Ellis had himself a fantastic 4.2 innings in game one, a “bullpen game” where he allowed just one run on two hits. Unfortunately, his immediate relief of Dillon Tate and Marcos Diplán both allowed three runs, which turned out to be enough for the Blue Jays.
For the second straight start, Keegan Akin was at the top of his game. In his start in game two, Akin lasted five innings; he only allowed one run on two hits. He struck out five Blue Jay hitters, and the only damage he allowed was a solo home run. He threw just 85 pitches in those five innings.
Matt Harvey had himself a Matt Harvey outing in game three; he lasted four innings. In those four innings, Harvey allowed four runs on six hits. Besides an early Marcus Semien home run, Harvey was dealing, until he imploded in the fourth.
Offensively, it was the Ryan Mountcastle show this series. Across these three games, Mountcastle went 4-for-10 with a home run, three RBI, three walks, and four runs scored. He accounted for 70-percent of the Orioles’ runs. His home run in game one was his 25th on the year, and it came off Cy Young candidate, Robbie Ray.
Some other young bats came to play as well, one being Ramón Urías, who delivered a clutch hit in game two that put the O’s up 3-1. Jahmai Jones later added his first Oriole RBI in the seventh inning of that game, securing an O’s 4-2 victory.
In game three, Trey Mancini delivered in the clutch, tying that game at four a piece in the seventh. He tied it with his 29th double on the year, and Mountcastle scored the run all the way from first base. Even in an eventual loss, we can hope a clutch hit like that will help pull Mancini out of his slump.
Overall, the offense couldn’t provide the support for its arms. The O’s only scored 10 runs in the series, and two came on bases loaded walks. They went 6-for-20 with RISP, which isn’t bad, but it wasn’t enough.
The Blue Jays offense took advantage of a couple of Oriole pitchers, but other than that, the bullpen was pretty good. Tyler Wells pitched a clean 1.1 innings in high leverage. Cole Sulser earned the save in the game two win with a three-up, three-down ninth inning. However, the good bullpen work was only good enough to pull out one win due to lack of run support.
Here are the final scores from these games:
Game 1: TOR 7, BAL 3
- Loss: Tate (0-4)
- Mountcastle: 2-for-3, 2-run HR (25th), 2 RBI
- Ellis: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 K
- Greene: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER
Game 2: BAL 4, TOR 2
- Win: Akin (2-8)
- Akin: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 K
- Hays: 1-for-4, RBI
- Urías: 1-for-4, 2B (13), 2 RBI
- Jones: 1-for-3, RBI
Game 3: TOR 5, BAL 4
- Loss: Tate (0-5)
- Mountcastle: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
- Mullins: 1-for-4, RBI, BB
- Mancini: 1-for-4, 2B (29), RBI
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