This was always set up to be a big series in Toronto for the Baltimore Orioles. Kyle Gibson took the ball to face off against a team that seems to enjoy beating the O’s – and everyone else in the league. Against a team who found themselves once again and as usual, steeped in controversy just this week when New York was in town. And for starters, Gibson showed up tonight. Gibson’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
Gibson gave up an RBI-single to Jansen in the last of the second. And that was it for him. He was solid all night. And he pitched seven innings in a game where the Orioles could have afforded to rest their bullpen a bit. And that point right there bodes well for the Orioles going into tomorrow.
However Toronto didn’t hold the lead for long. Ryan Mountcastle came up in the third with two runners on base. As much as we’ve talked in past years about certain players “owning” the Orioles, Mountcastle’s had his way with Toronto. Big time.
He smacked a two-run homer in the top of the third, giving the Birds a 3-1 lead. That was Mountcastle’s 15th home run against Toronto in his career. “Mounty’s” also in his third season. And needless to say, while the sheer number of homers against one team is impressive in and of itself, Mountcastle’s homer was huge in the grand scheme of the game itself.
Anthony Santander would smack a home run of his own (a solo shot) in the sixth. Following Gibson, Yennier Cano would enter the game in the eighth. While Cano committed the rare act of surrendering a run (on Bichette’s RBI-groundout), he only allowed that one run. And he pitched the Orioles’ way out of a jam.
And on top of that, the O’s got two insurance runs in the ninth inning. Adam Frazier’s two-run homer extended the lead to 6-2. And thanks to Felix Bautista in the last of the ninth, that was your final score.
However make no mistake that it was Ryan Mountcastle back in the third inning who got the Orioles over the hump in this one. Offensively, that is. Gibson and Cano’s heroics we’re almost equally as important. For whatever reason, Ryan Mountcastle always hits Toronto hard. Needless to say, he ruled the roost at Toronto’s Rogers Centre tonight.
The series continues tomorrow night at Rogers Centre. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Alek Manoah. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.
Birdland Crush 