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TORONTO — Two home runs from Anthony Santander and a powerful two-run shot from Jackson Holliday in the seventh inning powered the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-3 comeback win against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Santander hit a two-run homer in the first inning and drove in three runs in the eighth off relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough, helping the Orioles (68-47) to their third win in four games.
The Blue Jays (52-62) suffered their third loss in four games before a crowd of 37,547 at Rogers Centre.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a single in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 19 games.
Holliday hit a 424-foot right-field cannon off Toronto pitcher Ryan Burr (0-1), the second time the second baseman has hit a ball that high this series.
Just hours before Burr and Yarbrough’s mistakes, Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro told reporters that the bullpen “has been our Achilles’ heel all year long.”
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Off leadoff hitter Colton Cowser in the first inning, Santander hit his major league-leading 24th home run since early June.
But then Toronto starting pitcher Bowden Francis settled in. He pitched five innings, allowing just three hits, walking one and striking out seven.
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Orioles starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, also making his second start since being acquired from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline on July 30, pitched five innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits, two walks and two strikeouts.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases in the first inning on three singles from Ernie Clement, Guerrero and Alejandro Kirk.
Clement scored on Spencer Horwitz’s sacrifice fly.
Toronto took a 3-2 lead in the second on a single by Brian Serven and a thrown error by Orioles third baseman Coby Mayo.
Baltimore pitcher Birch Smith (3-0) threw a perfect sixth inning and earned the win.
Shapiro Speech
In his first media interview since March 21, Shapiro said his ninth season as coach of the Blue Jays “has been the biggest departure from our expectations and the most disappointing season to date.”
Toronto was swept 2-0 in the 2020, 2022 and 2023 American League wild-card series and will not make the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.
But Shapiro hinted that general manager Ross Atkins will have a chance to rebuild the Blue Jays into a competitive team this offseason.
“I’m rarely outspoken about anything,” Shapiro said. “I don’t comment on the status of jobs during the season and I won’t do so.”
“That being said, from a practical standpoint, I’m a big believer in continuity and stability and think those are competitive advantages. The conversation I had with Ross was focused on what we can learn from how we build our team.”
Eight days after the trade deadline, during the Paris Olympics, Shapiro spoke to reporters in front of the Blue Jays dugout.
Shapiro declined to say whether Guerrero and Beau Bichette, whose contracts run through the end of 2025, will renew.
“It’s definitely easier to build a sustainable championship team if you can have talented players like this for a long time,” he said.
On Deck
Kevin Gausman (9-8) will start for the Blue Jays in Thursday’s series finale against the Orioles. Baltimore will send right-hander Dean Kramer (4-8) to face them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Aug. 7, 2024.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
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