The Blue Jays are off to a better start than the Orioles. It’s not ideal.
The Orioles and Blue Jays met in the first series of the season, back when we were so young and innocent. They split the four-game series. Since then, the Orioles have gone 3-6 while the Blue Jays have gone 6-4. That’s opposite directions. If you didn’t know. The Blue Jays are currently tied for first place in the AL East, percentage points behind the Yankees.
Also, since we last saw the Blue Jays, they extended their young star Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. to the tune of 14 years, $500 million. Guerrero had given the Blue Jays a deadline before the season started, but deadlines go out the window with half a billion.
So far on this young season, the Blue Jays haven’t scored a ton of runs. But their team ERA of 3.32 is third-best in the AL behind the Royals and Rays. Their starting pitching has been especially impressive with a 2.54 ERA.
Let’s check in on Anthony Santander! Unfortunately, things are not going well for our guy. He is still waiting on his first home run of the year. He has just one extra base hit and his OPS+ is just 50. We all know Santander is streaky, and April has historically been his worst month.
I expect Santander will get a very warm welcome in Baltimore. I know I’ll give him a nice cheer on Sunday when I attend. But even so, I hope he has one more cold weekend and then turns it around.
Game 1: Friday, 7:05 pm, MASN
RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (2 GS, 9.1 IP, 2.89 ERA, 5 K/3 BB) vs RHP Bowden Francis (2 GS, 11.1 IP, 3.18 ERA, 10 K/5 BB)
The Orioles missed Bowden Francis the last time around, but he has had two decent games to start the season. He gave up two runs in six innings against the Nationals and two runs in 5.1 innings against the Mets. He has walked five in 11.1 innings, which is a lot in a small sample size. Francis is coming off of a good 2024 in which he pitched to a 3.30 ERA in 27 games.
The jury is still out on Sugano, but his last start against the Royals was encouraging. When he faced the Blue Jays in the opening series, Sugano allowed two runs in four innings and exited early with hand cramps.
Game 2: Saturday, 4:05 pm, MASN
LHP Cade Povich (2 GS, 10.1 IP, 3.48 ERA, 12 K/2 BB) vs RHP José Berríos (3 GS, 17.2 IP, 4.58 ERA, 15 K/8 BB)
If the Orioles could stage a repeat performance against Berríos, that would be a great way to spend a Saturday. On Opening Day, Berríos gave up homers to Adley Rutschman, Tyler O’Neill, and Cedric Mullins as part of his six-run day. That was a lot of fun. Since then, Berríos has been much better. In his last two starts he has given up just three runs in 12.2 innings.
Povich has been erratic to start the season. On one hand, a 10.5 K/9 and 6.00 K/BB are pretty impressive. He has struggled with walks throughout his career, so just two in 10.1 innings is a great improvement. On the other hand, batters are hitting him like there is no tomorrow. His BABIP is .529, which is bonkers and maybe the highest I’ve ever seen. The good news is that’s gotta come down. Why not start with this game?
Game 3: Sunday, 1:35 pm, MASN
TBD vs LHP Easton Lucas (2 GS, 10.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 11 K/3 BB)
Easton Lucas was in the Orioles’ system before July 2023, when he was traded to Oakland for Shintaro Fujinami. Two waiver claims later and one injury to Max Scherzer has Lucas thriving in Toronto. He hasn’t allowed a run in two starts, the first two starts of his major league career. Because of how things go for the Orioles, I expect Lucas will make his third great start in this game.
The Orioles have not announced a starter for this game. Charlie Morton could pitch on regular rest. He gave up four runs in five innings on Tuesday in Arizona. He walked five in that game. It was his third bad start since arriving in Baltimore.