TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays lost the opener of their three-game set at Camden Yards last night by an 11-6 final…Slipped to 12-10 in series openers this year. Toronto has lost three of its last four games, but has still gone 8-4 over the last 12 games and 11-6 over the last 17…Needs a win tonight to avoid dropping to 13-9-0 in series play this season (6-6-0 on the road).
SOMEBODY PINCH ME: Cavan Biggio came off the bench in the top of the 8th inning and delivered a pinch-hit solo home run to right field…Was his 6th longball of the year and his 2nd in as many games, homering in consecutive contests for the first time this season and the third time in his career…Also singled in the 9th, going a perfect 2-for-2 on the night, his 5th multi-hit game of the year…Over his last 15 contests, has gone 12-for-36 (.333) with nine runs scored, five extra-base hits, and eight RBI (.415 OBP, 1.109 OPS). The blast marked the Houston native’s 2nd pinch-hit homer of the season, also doing so on May 24th at TB…Became the 14th player in franchise history with multiple pinch-hit home runs in a single season…Trails only Willie Greene (3HR in 1999) and Colby Rasmus (3HR in 2014) for the most in a single season in Blue Jays history.
CAPTAIN CASHES ‘EM IN: Alejandro Kirk drove in runs with singles in the 4th, 8th, and 9th innings last night…Finished the game 3-for-5 with three RBI, his 4th three-hit effort of the year…Plated at least three runs in a game for the 2nd time this season (also: 4RBI on April 11 vs. DET) and the 7th time in his career…Over his last 23 games, has batted .325 (25-for-77) with three doubles, a homer, and 10 RBI (.744 OPS)…Raised his season batting average by 49 points over that span from .217 to .266.
TAKING THE ‘SHO ON THE ROAD: Daulton Varsho reached base safely in four of his five trips to the plate on Tuesday, notching a single, two doubles, and a walk for a 3-for-4 night…Was his 2ndd three-hit game of the season (also: 3-for-4 on April 5 at KC)…Recorded multiple doubles for the first time as a Blue Jay and the 3rd time in his career (last: May 2, 2022 at MIA). The 26-year old has hit safely in each of his last six road games, going 8-for-22 (.364) over that stretch with two doubles, two homers, and four RBI…Has hit .285 (39-for-137) away from Rogers Centre this year, notching nine doubles, eight homers, and 22 RBI…His road OPS (.868) this season is now 352 points better than his home OPS (.516).
SPRINGING FORWARD: George Springer led off Tuesday’s contest with a double before singling in the 3rd inning…Finished the game 2-for-4 for his 18th multi-hit game of the year… Has recorded 17 multi-hit games out of the leadoff spot this season, good for 5th most among AL hitters. Since May 19th, the Connecticut native has gone 30-for-91 (.330) with eight doubles, a triple, four home runs, 10 RBI, and 11 walks during his 24 contests… Over that span, ranks T-2nd among AL hitters in times on base (42), T-4th in total bases (52), 6th in OBP (.408), and 6th in OPS (.979).
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Blue Jays are off on a three-city, nine-day road trip (0-1 so far)…Own a 18-18 road record this season for a .500 win% (7th in the AL)…After this trio of games against the O’s, will head out for three contests each against the Rangers (41-25) and Marlins (37-31). Blue Jays hitters lead the Majors in road AVG (.268) and sit T-1st with 344 road hits (PHI – 344 hits)…Rank 1st among AL clubs in road OBP (.334), 2nd in road SLG (.439), and 2nd in road OPS (.773)… The pitching staff ranks 11th in the AL in road ERA (4.52), 12th in road opponents’ average (.261), and 14th in road WHIP (1.38).
LAYING OFF THE DONUTS: The Blue Jays have notched 626 hits this season, behind only Texas (631) for the most in the Majors… Are currently 2nd in the AL in team AVG (.265), 3rd in OBP (.334), 4th in OPS (.757), 6th in SLG (.422), and 6th in extra-base hits (208). The Blue Jays are one of two MLB teams to have scored in every game this season (also: ARI)…Have gone 86 straight games without being shut out, the longest active streak in the Majors (2nd: ARI – 68G)…Is their 3rd-longest such streak in franchise history, and their longest since scoring in 93 consecutive games from April 13-July 15, 1986.
SANTIAG-O’S: Santiago Espinal entered last night’s game as a pinch hitter in the 8th, drawing a walk before plating a run in the 9th with a fielder’s choice…His career .432 AVG vs. BAL is the 5th-highest mark vs. any opponent in the live-ball era (since 1920), min. 80 AB’s.
DIVISIONAL DOWNTURN: The Blue Jays have gone 6-16 against divisional opponents this season (5th among AL East clubs)… Went 43-33 (.566%) in divisional play in 2022, the 2nd-best winning percentage within the division and the club’s best since registering a .581 win% in 2006.
(43-31).
VS. THE ORIOLES: All-Time: 384-325
2023: 0-4 Road: 171-181
Road: 0-1 Camden Yards: 132-123 The Blue Jays were swept by the Orioles in their three-game set at Rogers Centre last month, losing the last
two contests in extra innings…Have gone 17-8 over their last 25 visits to Camden Yards, averaging 7.2 runs per game with a +51 run differential. Bo Bichette notched four hits and an RBI in the earlier three-game series vs. BAL this year (4-for-14)…Over 50 career games against the O’s, has batted .322 (67-for-208) with 12 doubles, 10 homers, 35 RBI, and 20 multi-hit efforts (.889 OPS). George Springer has multiple hits in each of the four games against Baltimore this year, going 8-for-17 (.471) with two doubles, a home run, and three RBI…
Has met the O’s 67 times in his career, hitting .330 (90-for-273) with 19 doubles, 18 homers, and 48 RBI for a .597 SLG% and a .987 OPS. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a career .321 hitter (88-for274) in 67 games vs. BAL, notching 13 doubles, 22 homers, and 54 RBI (.609 SLG, .983 OPS)…His 44 hits at Camden Yards are his 2nd most in a road park in his career (Fenway Park – 49).
STARTING PITCHER – José Berríos, RHP #17
TODAY’S GAME: Making his 14th start of the season and his 9th on the road…Won his 6th game of the year his last time out, on 6/8 vs. HOU, tossing 6.0 innings of 2-run ball (4H, 2BB, 2K)…Marked his 7th quality start of the season…Has allowed 2 runs or less in 6 of his last 7 outings. Over his last 11 starts, has gone 6-2 with a 2.53 ERA (19 ER/67.2 IP), 58 strikeouts, and a 1.14 WHIP. Has made 153 starts since the beginning of 2018, tied for the 3rd most among MLB hurlers (Aaron Nola – 157, Gerrit Cole – 154).
2023 HIGHLIGHTS:
Took a no-decision on 6/3 at NYM, throwing 6.0 innings of one-run ball with 4 hits, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts…Allowed one run or fewer in a third straight outing. Pitched 5.2 frames of shutout ball on 5/28 at MIN (4H, 5BB, 5K)…Became the winningest pitcher in Target Field history, earning his 33rd career victory to break a tie with Kyle Gibson (32). Tossed 7.0 frames of one-run ball on 5/23 at TB, scattering 5 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts…Was his 5th quality start of the year and his 3rd in the last 4 games. Took the loss on 5/18 vs. NYY, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk over 6.2 frames with 8 strikeouts. Took a no-decision on 5/13 vs. ATL, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks over 5.2 innings with 3 strikeouts. Improved to 3-3 on the year on 5/6 at PIT, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk over 6.1 frames with 7 strikeouts. Worked 7.0 shutout frames on 4/25 vs. CWS, scattering 4 singles and a walk with a season-high 9 strikeouts…Completed 7.0 innings in consecutive starts for the 13th time in his career (last: 3G from 6/4- 15/22)…Has allowed 3 runs over his last 3 starts, posting a 1.42 ERA (3 ER/19.0 IP) with a pair of walks and 18 punchouts. Took the loss on 4/19 at HOU, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk over
7.0 frames with 3 strikeouts…Was his 1st quality start of the year.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN: The Orioles beat the Blue Jays last night, 11-6, to open the three-game series…Have won five games in a row for the second time this season behind a seven-game streak from April 16-24…The O’s tallied a season-high 17 hits, including a season-high four home runs, highlighted by Gunnar Henderson’s first career grand slam in the third inning… Dean Kremer earned his seventh win after allowing two runs over 6.0 innings.
Kremer is one of 14 pitchers with at least seven victories this year; he and Kyle Gibson are one of three pairs of teammates with 7+ wins this season along with Arizona (Kelly, 8 & Gallen, 7) and Tampa Bay (McClanahan, 10 & Eflin, 8).
Seven players recorded multi-hit efforts, the most by the Birds since August 19, 2022 vs. Boston (also 7).
Henderson became the 17th rookie in O’s history (since 1954) to hit a grand slam and the first since Ryan Mountcastle on May 22, 2021 at Washington.
Adam Frazier’s go-ahead home run in the second inning was the 800th hit of his career; he’s one of 84 active players with 800 career hits.
Anthony Santander played in his 500th career game, all with the Orioles.
WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won 33 of their last 50 games, 36 of 54, and 38 of 57…The 42-24 (.636) overall record is the second-best in MLB (see box at right)…Baltimore is 90- 59 (.604) since July 3, 2022, the fourth-best record in MLB during that time…This season marks the seventh time in Orioles history (since 1954) that the team has won 42 of the first 66 games and only the second time in the last 43 seasons, joining 1997 (46-20).
HOME COOKING: The Orioles began a six-game, seven-day homestand on Friday with a three-game sweep of Kansas City…Following an off day on Monday, the Birds host Toronto for three games through Thursday before embarking on a five-game road trip at Chicago-NL from June 16-18 and at Tampa Bay from June 20-21.
AGAINST THE JAYS: The Orioles have won all four games against the Blue Jays to start the year, the longest winning streak against Toronto since the team won five in a row from June 16 to August 16, 2022…The O’s are now 13-10 (.565) against the Jays since the start of 2022 after going 20-47 (.299) against Toronto from 2018-21…Baltimore swept a three-game set at Rogers Centre from May 19-21, the first sweep of an AL East opponent since taking two games against the Blue Jays at Oriole Park from August 8-9, 2022, and first three-game sweep against the division since sweeping the Red Sox at Fenway Park from April 2-4, 2021…It was the first sweep of at least three games by the Orioles against the Jays since August 27-29, 2018 at Oriole Park, and first road sweep of the Blue Jays since sweeping a three-game series at Rogers Centre from April 22-24, 2005…The O’s will travel to Toronto again for four games from July 31 to August 3 and will host them once more for three games from August 22-24.
STRIKE A POSE: Baltimore pitchers rank seventh in MLB with 613 strikeouts…The team is on pace to strike out over 1,500 batters (9.3/G) which would shatter the club record of 1,248 strikeouts (7.7/G) set in 2016 and matched in 2019.
O’s relievers rank second in MLB with 292 strikeouts, trailing the Kansas City ‘pen (293).
YOUNG GUNN: Gunnar Henderson has hit in six straight games, tied for the longest hitting streak in his career and for second time this season (5/13-18)…He’s slashed .542/.560/1.083 (13-for-24) with one double, four home runs, six runs scored, 10 RBI, one walk, and two stolen bases since June 7…Henderson has homered in three straight games, the first O’s rookie to do so since Ryan Mountcastle from June 2-5, 2021…He’s scored a run in five consecutive games since June 8, one shy of his career high set earlier this year from April 11-16…His five home runs in June are tied for the MLB lead and he’s third in the AL this month in RBI (11) and total bases (30).
He earned his first AL Player of the Week honor last week; he’s the first Oriole to win the award since Mountcastle in June 2021.
Ranks among AL rookies in triples (T-1st, 2), home run (2nd, 10), runs (2nd, 35), slugging percentage (2nd, .475), walks (3rd, 30), on-base percentage (4th, .355), OPS (4th, .830), extra-base hits (4th, 20), and total bases (4th, 87).
Henderson has raised his slugging percentage 171 points since May 9, going from .304 to .475 entering play tonight.
HOT HICKS: Aaron Hicks is slashing .364/.488/.667 (12-for-33) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, 10 runs, five RBI, eight walks, and one stolen base in his first 11 games with the O’s since May 31…He’s reached safely in all 11 games, his longest on-base streak since a 12-gamer from September 5-18, 2020 with New York-AL…It’s also the longest to start a stint with the Orioles since Jorge Mateo reached safely in his first 14 games from August 6-20, 2021.
His 20 times on base (12 H, 8 BB) through his first 11 games with the O’s are the most since Tim Beckham reached 23 times in his first 11 games from August 1-11, 2017.
He has five extra-base hits (2-2B, 3B, 2 HR) since joining the Orioles after recording three (2-2B, HR) in 28 games with the Yankees this year.
O’HOMER: Ryan O’Hearn has homered in back-to-back games for the second time this season, joining May 16-20…Marks his the fifth time he’s hit a home run in at least two straight games and one shy of his career high of three consecutive from May 27 to June 23, 2021 with Kansas City…He’s slashed .378/.417/.822 (17-for-45) with five doubles, five homers, 10 runs, 13 RBI, and three walks in his last 14 games (13 GS) since May 16…Among players with at least 45 plate appearances during that time, he ranks second in OPS (1.239) and slugging, and fourth in batting average.
BIG TIME RUTSCH: Adley Rutschman leads the AL with 46 walks and ranks second in the AL with 112 times on base (66 H, 46 BB)…He’s also fourth in the AL with a .390 on-base percentage.
ROSTER MOVES: The Orioles recalled Joey Ortiz and selected the contract of Reed Garrett from Triple-A Norfolk today…Austin Voth was placed on the 15-day Injured List with right elbow discomfort and Mark Kolozsvary was designated for assignment…Kolozsvary had his contract selected from Norfolk prior to last night’s game after Ryan Mountcastle was placed on the 10-day Injured List with vertigo, retroactive to June 10…To make room on the 40-man yesterday, Noah Denoyer was designated for assignment.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #39 KYLE BRADISH RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 12th start of the season, fifth at home, and sixth career start against the Blue Jays tonight…Made 23 starts in his rookie season with the Orioles in 2022…Went 4-7 with a 4.90 ERA (64 ER/117.2 IP) with 111 strikeouts to 46 walks…Was one of 13 O’s players (7 pitchers) to make their debut in 2022…Started on the bump for Adley Rutschman’s debut on May 21 vs. Tampa Bay…Tossed 16.0 consecutive scoreless innings across four starts from August 26 to September 6…Acquired by the Orioles along with RHP Kyle Brnovich, RHP Zach Peek, and RHP Isaac Mattson from Los Angeles-AL in exchange for RHP Dylan Bundy on December 4, 2019… Originally drafted by the Angels in the fourth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of New Mexico State…Teammates at NMSU with INF Joey Ortiz.
LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in his last start on June 8 at Milwaukee, his first career start against the Brewers…Allowed three runs on six hits with one walk and a season-high 10 strikeouts in 5.0 innings… Surrendered all three runs and four of the six hits in the first inning; allowed two hits over the next 4.0 scoreless frames…Did not allow a home run for the third consecutive start…Threw a season-high 98 pitches, 63 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST BLUE JAYS: Making his sixth career start against the Blue Jays tonight…Dealt the loss in his last start against Toronto on September 17, 2022 at Rogers Centre…Allowed fi ve runs (3 ER) on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts in 4.2 innings…Left with two runners on, who both later scored…Threw 80 pitches, 49 strikes…Owns a 0-2 record with a 6.95 ERA (17 ER/22.0 IP) in his first five starts against the Blue Jays.
CAREER AGAINST THE AL EAST: Making his 17th career start against the AL East tonight…Did not factor into the decision in his last start against the division on May 23 at New York-AL…Allowed four runs on seven hits (1 HR) with three walks and three strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work…Threw 90 pitches, 51 strikes…Has pitched to an 0-8 record with a 7.86 ERA (62 ER/71.0 IP) in 16 career assignments against the AL East.
BEAST OUTSIDE THE EAST: In 18 career starts against teams outside the AL East, Bradish owns a 6-1 record with a 2.45 ERA (27 ER/99.2 IP), 105 strikeouts, and eight quality starts…Has allowed three earned runs-or-fewer in 16 of those 18 starts…Owns a 2-1 record with a 2.79 ERA (14 ER/45.2 IP) and 47 strikeouts to nine walks through his fi rst nine starts outside the division in 2023…Dealt his fi rst career loss outside of the AL East on June 3 at San Francisco.
HOME SWEET HOME: Has gone 1-1 with a 3.74 ERA (9 ER/21.2 IP) through his first four home starts this season…Did not factor into the decision in his last at Oriole Park on May 28 vs.Texas…Allowed one run on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts in a season-high-tying 6.2 innings (5/17 vs. LAA)… Marked his fourth quality start of the season…Struck out the side in the first inning (Semien, Seager, Lowe), the second time he has struck out the side in an inning in his career (3rd, 9/22/22 vs. HOU)…Became the first O’s pitcher to strike out the fi rst three batters of the game since Tommy Milone on August 19, 2020 vs. Toronto…Threw 85 pitches, 56 strikes…Owns a 2-6 record with a 4.96 ERA (43 ER/78.0 IP) in 15 career starts at Oriole Park. SWING AND A MISS: Bradish registered 16 swings and misses on May 12 vs. Pittsburgh, his second-most in a game in his career behind the 17 he recorded on August 26, 2022 at Houston.
