Orioles pile on Blue Jays, 13-3, claim season series for first time since 2017 – The Denver Post

For the second straight night, Ryan Mountcastle and Gunnar Henderson supplied much of the Orioles’ offense to back a quality start from a pitcher named Kyle.

After driving in all four of Baltimore’s runs in Monday’s series-opening victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, Henderson and Mountcastle combined for six RBIs as Kyle Bradish provided seven innings in a 13-3 win. With Tuesday’s victory, the Orioles won the season series against the Blue Jays for the first time since 2017 and maintained their 1 1/2-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.

Mountcastle continued his dominance over Toronto. Entering the game with a .313 average and .996 OPS against the Blue Jays in his career, Mountcastle went 3-for-4 with two doubles. Henderson homered for the second straight game, notably doing so off left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu after struggling off lefties for much of his rookie season, and finished with four RBIs. Anthony Santander recorded that many on one swing, breaking the game open with an eighth-inning grand slam.

Such blowouts have been uncommon for the Orioles (66-41), with half of their victories coming in games decided by two or fewer runs.

“We don’t usually get that grand slam that Santander hit,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Gave us some big-time breathing room there.”

As he did Monday to back up the pitching of Kyle Gibson in a 4-2 win, Mountcastle got Baltimore’s offense started, following Adley Rutschman’s leadoff double with his own two-bagger and eventually scoring on a groundout from Henderson. Rutschman’s run-scoring single in the second gave the Orioles a 3-0 lead, but the Blue Jays (59-49) evened the game off Bradish with Danny Jansen’s two-run home run in the second and Brandon Belt’s third-inning solo shot.

Bradish did not surrender another run in completing four more innings. The second-year right-hander has gone at least six innings in seven straight starts, lasting seven frames in three of those outings. Tuesday’s outing left his ERA at 3.32.

“Got a little pissed off after those two homers, kind of lit a fire in me for letting that three-run lead get away early,” Bradish said. “But I was able to battle and get into the seventh and keep the team in it.”

Henderson’s solo shot, his 18th home run, broke the tie in the sixth as Baltimore scored 10 runs over the final four innings. Mountcastle doubled in another run in the seventh, and after Toronto walked Austin Hays intentionally to have Henderson face left-hander Génesis Cabrera, Henderson ripped a single up the middle, scoring Mountcastle from third and Hays racing home from first after running on the pitch.

After a slow start to his rookie year, Henderson has an OPS above .900 since the start of June.

“He’s just getting better and better,” Hyde said. “It’s fun to watch a guy just turning into what he’s turning into right now, which is just a force at the plate.”

Added Henderson: “I haven’t really felt like I’ve shown the whole package yet. Still feel like I’m getting going a little bit.”

Two-out walks from Jorge Mateo, Rutschman and Mountcastle loaded the bases for Santander, who walloped Nate Pearson’s full-count offering deep to right field for his second career grand slam in the eighth. Ryan McKenna added a two-run single in the ninth off Jordan Hicks, the late-inning reliever the Blue Jays acquired this week from the St. Louis Cardinals. Baltimore also added a pitcher from St. Louis ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, trading three prospects for starter Jack Flaherty.

Hyde said after the game “there’s a chance” Flaherty makes his Orioles debut in Thursday’s series finale, filling the hole left in Baltimore’s rotation after Tyler Wells’ demotion.

Around the horn

• Before the game, manager Brandon Hyde said the hope is injured outfielders Cedric Mullins (right groin strain) and Aaron Hicks (left hamstring strain) will rejoin the team within the next two weeks.
• Left-hander DL Hall, Baltimore’s No. 8 prospect according to Baseball America, will rejoin Triple-A Norfolk and initially pitch as a reliever after completing a strengthening program at the Orioles’ Sarasota, Florida, complex.
• The deal for Flaherty wasn’t Baltimore’s only trade Tuesday. The club also sent reliever Eduard Bazardo, designated for assignment over the weekend, to the Seattle Mariners for minor league reliever Logan Rinehart, a 25-year-old with a 2.84 ERA in High-A.

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