Anthony Santander homered from both sides of the plate, and Jackson Holliday made history with his go-ahead home run in the seventh inning.
Anthony Santander smashed a two-run homer before the first out of the game, but the Orioles went six innings before tacking on another run. Jackson Holliday woke everyone up with a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, and Santander went deep from the other side of the plate in the eighth.
Trevor Rogers delivered a fine start, Brandon Hyde got ejected, and Coby Mayo continued to struggle defensively, but Holliday and Santander were the story tonight. The Orioles came from behind, and the bullpen did its job in a 7-3 victory over the Blue Jays.
Colton Cowser delivered an at bat worthy of the leadoff spot with a nine-pitch walk to start the game. Santander, batting from the left side, fell behind in the count 1-2 before pouncing on a high fastball. The switch-hitter launched the ball 391 feet to right-center for his 33rd homer of the season.
The next three batters went down in order, but Santander spotted Trevor Rogers a two-run advantage.
Rogers struggled in his first start with the Orioles, but he improved tonight. He allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks. Baltimore will take that type of outing from their fifth starter, but the Orioles need Rogers to make an impact with Grayson Rodriguez on the injured list.
Rogers retired George Springer to start the first before allowing a pair of one-out singles. The lefty nearly generated an inning-ending double play, but a sharp grounder from Alejandro Kirk took a tough hop at third base. Coby Mayo failed to field the ball, and all three runners reached base safely.
To his credit, Rogers limited the damage. He allowed the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly to left, but he retired Davis Schneider to end the inning. Mayo originally received an error before the official scorer changed the ruling to a base hit. Either way, Rogers needed 31 pitchers to record the first three outs.
The Jays went back to work against Rogers and Baltimore’s defense in the second. Leo Jiménez slapped a one-out double to left, and Brian Serven lifted a ball just over Jackson Holliday’s glove at second base for an RBI single. Serven advanced to second on a ground out, and Rogers nearly escaped with another grounder to third base.
Mayo fielded a sharply hit ball by Ernie Clement but failed to hit Ryan Mountcastle at first base. Mayo received his first official error of the game, and Serven scored Toronto’s third run of the game.
The Orioles led by two before ever recording an out, but the bats went to sleep in a hurry. Blue Jays’ starter Bowden Francis kept Baltimore off balance with several high fastballs, and the O’s failed to score again until the seventh inning.
Eloy Jiménez managed an infield single with a check swing and advanced to second on a throwing error by Vlad Guerrero Jr. Jiménez took third on an errant pickoff attempt, and Jackson Holliday only needed a fly ball to tie the game at three.
Holliday fell behind 0-2 before absolutely demolishing a high fastball. Holliday pulled the ball 424 feet to provide Baltimore a 4-3 advantage. The blast marked his fourth career home run, and Holliday became the first 20-year-old rookie to go deep in three consecutive games.
Burch Smith worked a clean sixth, and Yennier Cano delivered a shutdown seventh with a touch of drama. Cano allowed a one-out single to Springer, and the former All-Star took second base when Clement grounded out to the pitcher.
The Orioles elected to pitch to Guerrero with first base open and two outs. Guerrero blitzed a first pitch sinker, but Santander made a spectacular jumping catch to rob Guerrero at the right-field wall.
Santander led off the eighth and put a bow on his special night. Hitting from the right side, he sent an 0-2 changeup over the wall for his second homer of the evening.
The blast provided Baltimore some insurance and marked a career-high 34 homers for the free-agent-to-be. Maybe the Orioles should, uh, pay the man!?
Austin Slater earned another pinch-hit walk, and Rutschman took his base after getting hit by a pitch. Jiménez continued his hot start in Baltimore with a two-run double down the right-field line.
Cionel Pérez retired the side in the eighth, and Seranthony Domínguez put away the Jays with a scoreless ninth.
Hyde was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the fifth inning. Home plate umpire Larry Vanover struggled behind the dish, and both teams voiced frustration early in the contest.
Mayo failed to record his first hit, but he hit a ball sharply to the shortstop after Holliday’s home run. Ramón Urías replaced Mayo at third after the Orioles took the lead.
The Orioles can take the series tomorrow with Dean Kremer facing Kevin Gausman. The Yankees split a doubleheader today against the Angels.