BALTIMORE – To this point in 2023, the Orioles have been enjoying an incredible season filled with breakout performances and more wins than most would have predicted. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have been a little underwhelming all year. Not bad – far from it, in fact – but just good enough that you see the potential and wonder why it’s not on display more often.
Maybe that’ll be the story of the season. Baltimore’s still the team that’s on track for a division title and a first-round playoff bye, after all. But for at least one night, the Blue Jays were the ones who turned an ordinary night in Baltimore into a memorable win.
Brandon Belt made sure of that when he led off the top of the 10th inning with his third home run in the last two games, a two-run shot that set in motion a 6-3 Blue Jays win on Tuesday.
As a result, the Blue Jays won the opener of this three-game series at Camden Yards, improving to 70-56 on the season and gaining a game on the Orioles, who now are 7.5 games ahead of third-place Toronto. But even if the Orioles take the division, these wins are still critically important since the Blue Jays are chasing the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros for wild-card position.
While the Blue Jays have elite pitching, with an MLB-best 3.65 ERA entering play Tuesday, their power game has been middling at best. They entered play Tuesday ranked 15th in baseball in home runs, and were one of four teams without a 20-homer hitter (Guardians, Reds, Giants). Thanks to Belt’s 14th home run of the year, they were able to take advantage of some more strong relief pitching and win their third in a row.
Offensively, Daulton Varsho provided the Blue Jays’ first highlight, hitting his 16th home run of the season over the right-field wall in the second inning. Otherwise, it was shaping up to be a quiet night for the Blue Jays, who didn’t score between Kevin Kiermaier’s RBI double in the fourth and Belt’s home run.
Starter Yusei Kikuchi was effective through four innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth after allowing singles by Jorge Mateo and Adley Rutschman to open the inning. Mateo would score when a double steal forced an errant throw by Danny Jansen, and the next batter, Austin Hays walked.
That prompted a call to the bullpen for Yimi Garcia, who promptly allowed a Jordan Westburg RBI double that was charged to Kikuchi. All told, the left-hander pitched 4.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking one.
To his credit, he handled Blue Jays nemesis Ryan Mountcastle effectively, striking him out twice and later inducing a fly-ball out. Considering Mountcastle’s previous numbers against Kikuchi – seven-for-12 with four home runs – that represents a significant step forward.
On the injury front, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. returned to the lineup after exiting Sunday’s game with left middle finger discomfort. Before the game Guerrero Jr. said he felt fine, and he’d later collect three hits, including an extra-innings double.
“He’s pretty good at playing, especially this time of year,” manager John Schneider said. “He’s anxious for this series and for the rest of the stretch run.”
Next up, a chance to win the series with Kevin Gausman on the mound against Jack Flaherty of the Orioles.
