Tomoyuki Sugano had his struggles this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. First off, Toronto came up swinging early, and he wasn’t getting borderline pitches at home plate. And Toronto wasn’t hitting the ball hard, they were fouling off pitch after pitch, driving up Sugano’s pitch count. Sugano’s line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 0 K.
Toronto put a run on the board in each of the first three innings, including former Oriole Anthony Santander hitting his first home run in a Toronto uniform in the third. Speaking of uniforms, the O’s wore their all-orange uniforms for the first time since 2010. They wore them in the early 70’s, but it was short-lived; they’ll wear these uniforms for every Saturday home game.
And Toronto followed suit, wearing their own alternate uniforms, all in powder blue. And that was all we saw for the first half of the game – those powder blue dressed guys celebrating. Oriole bats squared up a lot of pitches; they were just balls hit to fielders.
But this lineup is too good to go that quietly. The Orioles couldn’t get a base runner until the fifth inning when Cedric Mullins drew a one-out walk. Two hitters later Heston Kjerstad recorded the Orioles’ first hit of the game. Funny thing though, that one hit changed the scope of the game. Because it was a two-run homer that cut the Toronto lead to 3-2, and propelled the Birds back into the game.
One inning later it was tied following an Adley Rutschman solo home run. The O’s would later put two runners on base, and Cedric Mullins broke up the tie with a two-RBI double. He would also take third on a throwing error, and before you knew it the Orioles had the lead.
Toronto would push one across in the seventh when Guerrero grounded into a double-play with a runner on third, setting up Felix Bautista’s first save opportunity since 2023 in the ninth with a one-run lead.
With two outs Toronto had two runners in scoring position, and Bichette striding to the plate. It’s never easy with Toronto. However Bautista sent Bichette down swinging, netting his first save since August of 2023, and sending the Orioles home winners. That last part being the most inportant.
Backing up a bit, there was a big moment that occurred in the fifth that was really key. Santander had two runners on base and he flied out to right. However it ended up being a double-play, as the runners both tagged up however runner on first was found to have left too early. That helped keep the threat of a big inning down, keeping the game within reach.
To date, this was the biggest win of the season for the Orioles. Coming off of a semi-listless road trip, an off day, and a rain out, the O’s needed a spark to keep the season from spiraling. They got it. Not at the beginning, but they got it.
The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Cade Povich gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Jose Berrios. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 