TORONTO — Anthony Santander singled in a run for his first RBI since signing a free agent deal with Toronto to cap off a five-run inning as the Blue Jays rallied past the Baltimore Orioles 8-2 on Friday.
Alejandro Kirk, George Springer and Will Wagner led off the fourth with three singles for Toronto (1-1). Nathan Lukes drew a bases-loaded walk, rookie Alan Roden had a sacrifice fly, Wagner sprinted home on a wild pitch and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had another sac fly in the inning.
Bo Bichette added an RBI single in the sixth and pinch-hitter Ernie Clement drove in two more runs with a double in the seventh.
Kevin Gausman (1-0) struck out four over six innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk.
Relievers Yimi Garcia, Brendon Little, and Nick Sandlin combined for three scoreless innings.
Jackson Holliday hit a solo home run in the third inning for Baltimore (1-1) and Tyler O'Neill of Burnaby, B.C., had a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Charlie Morton (0-1) surrendered four runs on seven hits and a walk over 3 1/3 innings, striking out three.
Albert Suarez, Cionel Perez and Gregory Soto came out of the Orioles' bullpen, allowing a combined four runs, three of them earned, over 4 2/3 innings.
Takeaways
Orioles: A day after Baltimore's bats drove in 12 runs thanks to five home runs, the Orioles struggled with discipline at the plate. They struck out nine times, including three quick Ks in the eighth inning and Ryan Mountcastle's game-ending whiff with the bases loaded in the ninth.
Blue Jays: Gausman's solid performance in his first start of the season was promising after he struggled in last March and April. The veteran right-hander scuffled through his first three starts of 2024, giving up 13 runs over 9 1/3 innings for an 11.57 earned-run average, after his spring training was derailed by shoulder fatigue.
Key moment
Roden laid out for a highlight reel catch in the second inning, robbing Baltimore designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn of a sure basehit. It was only Roden's second MLB game and first time playing in left field at this level.
Key stat
The Orioles had 14 hits to Toronto's four in their 12-2 victory over the Blue Jays in Thursday's home opener. Toronto almost flipped that on Friday, getting 14 hits to Baltimore's three.
Up next
Max Scherzer will make his Blue Jays regular-season debut on Saturday afternoon in the third game of the four-game series. Dean Kremer will take the mound for Baltimore.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
