BALTIMORE—Zach Eflin’s Orioles debut was full of memorable moments — most vividly from catcher James McCann — and an easy win, though he would have liked to have pitched better.
In the bottom of the first inning, he didn’t think he would be pitching to McCann anytime soon. The 34-year-old catcher was struck in the face, primarily the nose, by Toronto Blue Jays starter Yariel Rodriguez with the bases loaded. McCann has never had a more painful RBI. After a 10-minute delay that included McCann being treated by two athletic trainers, Brian Ebel and Patrick Wesley, and a pitching change, McCann remained in the game.
Eflin, who was obtained from Tampa Bay last Friday for three prospects, allowed three runs on 10 hits in six innings, striking out seven without walking a batter in the Orioles’ 11-5 win over the Blue Jays on Monday in the first game of a doubleheader.
Throwing 98 pitches, Eflin (6-7) allowed nine singles and Addison Barger’s three-run home run in the fifth. But his first win as an Oriole wasn’t the first thing on his mind. McCann was.
“Before we even talk about the outing, what a leader James McCann is,” Eflin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that on a baseball field. I just became his probably No. 1 fan. To be able to go through that and stay in the game and show the grit and determination and competitiveness that he has, it’s inspiring. That was awesome.”
In that eventful first inning that took 40 minutes, the Orioles (63-43) scored four runs. Rodriguez walked Colton Cowser, Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson, his first batters. Ryan Mountcastle singled for a run. Jordan Westburg’s infield out scored Santander, and after Cedric Mullins reached on catcher’s interference for the second time in two games, Ramón Urías walked to score Henderson.
Rodriguez then hit McCann with a pitch, which scored Mountcastle.
McCann had gauze in his nostrils and a swollen left eye but played on. He also had many admiring fans, receiving multiple ovations.
“I think, at first, it’s more scary than anything,” he said. “It’s like taking a pretty good punch, a pretty good right hook, I guess. Now, it’s just the swelling that’s kind of set in and hard to see a little bit.”
If McCann had come out of the game, it would have meant Adley Rutschman, who was being rested for Game 1, would have had to play 17 innings on a humid day.
“I’m glad I grinded through it,” he said. “It was kind of one of those things where I felt like if I could get the blood to stop flowing, then I could stay in the game, and that’s what we were able to do, for the most part.”
Manager Brandon Hyde marveled at McCann’s toughness.
“That was a scary scene and just shows you how tough that guy is,” he said. ” To get hit like that, to have the blood not stop, coming out of his nose and his mouth … Just obviously dazed and the blood wasn’t stopping. Just a really, really scary scene.
“He is incredibly, incredibly tough. He catches eight more innings after that. I’ll give you a little update. He doesn’t have head or eye trauma or injury. We’re suspecting he has a broken nose. He’s gonna get a CT scan and he’s gonna see our ear, nose and throat specialist. All signs right now is we dodged a major bullet.”
Rodriguez (1-4) recorded just two outs and allowed four runs on one hit.
Westburg doubled against Brandon Eisert to lead off the third and scored on Urías’ infield out for a 5-0 lead after three.
Eflin allowed two singles in the first and second, and in the third, leftfielder Colton Cowser made two excellent plays to begin the inning. Cowser made a leaping catch at the left-field wall to rob Spencer Horwitz and followed with a diving catch on Vladimir Guerrero’s sinking liner.
Justin Turner hit the second single in the first inning and was removed from the game after the top of the second because Toronto traded him to the Seattle Mariners.
Eflin gave up two more singles in the fourth, and Toronto left six batters on in the first four innings.
Ryan O’Hearn’s sacrifice fly scored Cowser, and Westburg’s double scored Henderson in the fourth for a 7-0 lead.
Barger, who came into the game when Turner was removed, hit a three-run home run in the fifth, and the Orioles lead was 7-3.
The Orioles took a 10-3 lead in the fifth on Cowser’s sacrifice fly and Santander’s two-run home run, his 30th.
Guerrero hit his 20th home run against Keegan Akin in the seventh.
Mountcastle hit his 13th home run in the eighth and has nine RBIs in his last four games.
Notes: Cowser has a 10-game hitting streak…Cade Povich (1-4, 6.27) will face Bowden Francis (3-2, 5.82) in the second game. Povich was added as the 27th man for the doubleheader. … The 11 runs were the most the Orioles have scored since an 11-2 win over Texas on June 27th. … Westburg had three doubles.