Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Leads Blue Jays Past Orioles with Key Hits
TORONTO — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a big night at the plate for the Toronto Blue Jays, reaching base five times with three hits and two walks, including one intentional, and driving in a run in the opener of their three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles struggled against Toronto’s pitching, managing just three hits while committing two errors over the course of the game.
Baltimore struck first in the third inning against Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt. Samuel Basallo doubled to left-center, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on Jackson Holliday’s single to center.
Toronto responded in the bottom of the third, loading the bases on three walks against Orioles starter Trevor Rogers. Rogers worked out of the jam on Alejandro Kirk’s groundout.
The Blue Jays tied the game in the fifth inning with an unearned run. Davis Schneider walked with two outs and scored when Guerrero’s single to center eluded Colton Cowser, resulting in an error.
Bassitt finished five strong innings, allowing just one run on two hits with six strikeouts, before handing the ball to Ryan Borucki in the sixth. Braydon Fisher closed out the inning after a pair of walks.
Rogers exited after five innings with discomfort in his left big toe, giving up one unearned run, three hits, and a season-high four walks while striking out six.
Baltimore’s Dietrich Enns took over in the sixth, but Isaiah Kiner-Falefa reached second on an infield single and an error, later scoring on a double by Tommy Straw.
Toronto regained the lead in the seventh. George Springer singled and advanced to second on a groundout, prompting an intentional walk to Guerrero. Ernie Clement followed with an RBI single to left after Shawn Dubin struck out Alejandro Kirk.
The Blue Jays extended their lead in the eighth inning with three more runs. Straw singled, Springer walked, and Daulton Varsho’s two-run double skipped past first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. Guerrero added an RBI single but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.
With the win, Toronto improved to 85-62, while Baltimore fell to 69-78.
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