The Orioles managed to beat the Blue Jays 7-4 on Friday night, but holy cow, it was a mess. They jumped out to a huge lead that should’ve made it a cruise, then almost gave it all away with the tying run at the plate in the ninth. You score seven runs, that should be simple, right? Nope, but they still locked up the series opener.
Scherzer’s Nightmare Second
Friday night in Toronto turned into a historic disaster for Max Scherzer. In his 498th MLB game, the future Hall of Famer did something he’d never done before: he gave up six straight hits. The Orioles absolutely torched him in a five-run second inning. Gunnar Henderson kicked it off with a leadoff single, then the hits just kept coming. Heston Kjerstad drove in a run, and Colton Cowser and Dylan Beavers each plated two more, completely blowing the game open. Beavers wasn’t done, having already blasted his seventh homer of the season off Scherzer on just his second pitch of the game, giving the O’s an early 1-0 lead they never gave up. Scherzer mercifully finished five innings, but not before allowing six runs. His season ERA now sits at a rough 6.38. Brutal.
Basallo’s Big Play and Bassitt’s Battle
Even with the Orioles jumping ahead, starting pitcher Chris Bassitt didn’t exactly cruise through the first inning. After retiring the first batter, he let George Springer get a single, then walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Bases loaded with one out seemed inevitable, right? But not on Samuel Basallo’s watch! The Orioles catcher caught Vlad Jr. napping off first and fired a dart to Pete Alonso, who smoothly tagged him out. What a heads-up play! It was a good thing Basallo made that move, too, because Bassitt immediately walked Alejandro Kirk. Without Basallo’s incredible pick-off, that would have been bases loaded with only one out. Basallo had his own mini-drama with the ABS challenges, blowing one earlier. Then, Bassitt threw a strikeout pitch to Nathan Lukes that the umpire missed. Basallo hesitated to challenge, but the umpire took it up anyway, even without the helmet tap! Lucky break, it was strike three and the inning was finally over. Wild first frame!
What’s Next for the O’s?
The Orioles grabbed the 7-4 win, taking the series opener against the Blue Jays. They showed they can light up a legendary pitcher, but man, they cannot keep putting their bullpen through that kind of late-game stress. Seven runs should mean breathing room in the ninth! They’ve got momentum heading into the rest of this series, but they’ll need to tighten things up and avoid those ninth-inning heart attacks if they want to keep that winning feeling going.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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