The Baltimore Orioles went Jorge Lopez to the mound for his penultimate start in the 2020 season. Lopez ended up with the same fate as plenty of other Orioles’ starters against Toronto. They just seem to have the Birds’ number no matter what. Lopez’s line: 2.0 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 1 BB, 1 K.
Shocker, Toronto’s scoring started with Grichuk’s first at-bat. He smacked a solo homer in the second to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. Grichuk has hit eleven homers on the year (including this one). Six have come against the O’s. It’s uncanny.
Toronto kept the pressure on in the inning, putting base runner after base runner on base. And netting run after run. Before the second inning was over, they led the O’s 6-0.
The third inning brought a Toronto to 8-0, and Shaw’s fourth inning two-run homer put them ahead 10-0. Before the O’s could blink, they were that far behind. However the good news is that after that moment, the Orioles’ pen kept Toronto bats at bay. The damage had been done, but they were kept at bay from that moment forward.
And in fact, the O’s showed signs of wanting to get back into the game. Ramon Urias smacked a solo home run in the fifth. The O’s would get another homer that inning off the bat of Cedric Mullins. They’d also get one in the sixth from Jose Iglesias, and later an RBI-double from Hanser Alberto. That closed out Toronto’s 10-4 victory.
Before the game the Orioles announced that Anthony Santander had been voted the Most Valuable Oriole in 2020. He may have finished the season on the IL, but he made massive impacts on the team this year. Both on and off the field.
The series continues tomorrow in Buffalo. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Matt Shoemaker. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 