TORONTO — The bottom half of the Orioles' batting order delivered in the opener of a four-game series in Toronto. On Tuesday night, the top half showed it has plenty of power too.
Ryan Mountcastle hit a three-run homer and later added a two-run shot as Baltimore dumped the Blue Jays 10-1 at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays managed just five hits on the night and were outclassed by their division rivals for a second straight game.
"You have to execute your pitches," said Toronto manager John Schneider. "If you're throwing (crap) in the middle of the zone hoping for a good result, it's probably not going to happen against Ryan Mountcastle or against me if I'm hitting there. So you have to execute."
Connor Norby hit a two-run homer and Gunnar Henderson scored three times as Baltimore (39-20) won for the 10th time in 12 games. Adley Rutschman drove in two runs and scored twice for the Orioles.
A solo homer by George Springer was the lone blip for Baltimore starter Corbin Burnes (6-2) over a strong seven-inning effort. The right-hander allowed four hits and a walk and had five strikeouts.
"Just a fantastic performance," said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. "(A) total complete game from us."
Toronto (28-32) lost for the third time in four games. The Blue Jays fell to 14-15 at home and dropped to 7-9 against American League East opponents.
"The beauty of baseball is tomorrow," Schneider said. "I feel like I've said that a lot this year."
With regular starter Alek Manoah out due to injury, reliever Trevor Richards made a spot start for the home side. The right-hander threw two clean innings but left the game after 40 pitches.
The Blue Jays put runners on the corners against Burnes in the second inning but Daulton Varsho popped up to snuff the threat.
Genesis Cabrera (2-2) came on in relief for Toronto but lasted only two outs after hitting Colton Cowser with a pitch and walking Henderson. Rutschman drove in Cowser and Mountcastle welcomed Bowden Francis to the game by hitting his ninth homer of the year.
The heart of Baltimore's order flexed its muscle again in the fifth inning.
Henderson doubled into the right-field corner, moved to third on a Francis balk and scored when Rutschman singled. Mountcastle followed with a no-doubt 443-foot blast that landed in the second-level standing room area overlooking centre field.
Reliever Zach Pop, a native of Brampton, Ont., issued back-to-back walks to open the seventh. Henderson tacked on an insurance run when he scored on an Anthony Santander double.
Springer finally gave the crowd of 28,816 fans something to cheer about in the bottom half of the frame when he hit his fifth homer of the year.
Norby, who made his debut in Baltimore's 7-2 win on Monday, homered off Nate Pearson in the eighth inning. It was his first career big-league hit.
"That was the coolest thing I’ve done playing baseball, for sure," Norby said. "I got a lot of sleep last night. I don’t know how much sleep I’ll get tonight now after that one."
The game took two hours 39 minutes to play.
ROSTER MOVES
The Blue Jays reinstated Francis from the 15-day injured list before the game. He missed 34 games due to right forearm extensor tendinitis.
Right-hander Ryan Burr was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. Right-hander Joel Kuhnel, who was optioned to the Bisons on Friday, has elected free agency.
TEE TIME
Top prospect Ricky Tiedemann (left elbow) is expected to throw two innings in a live batting practice setting this week in Florida, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said in a pre-game availability.
The left-hander was limited to 44 innings last year due to left shoulder and biceps inflammation.
COMING UP
Right-hander Jose Berrios (5-4, 2.78 earned-run average) was scheduled to start for Toronto on Wednesday night. The Orioles had yet to name their starter.
The four-game series will wrap up Thursday with a matinee.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2024.
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Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
