Good morning Birdland,
Folks, we have ourselves a World Series! The Blue Jays took Game 1 on Friday night, crushing the Dodgers 11-4 in a game that was over by the end of the sixth inning.
Blake Snell, who had been terrific in these playoffs up until this game, was smacked around and knocked from the outing after just five innings. That forced Dave Roberts to use the weakest part of his team, the middle relievers. They were bad too. Anthony Banda allowed two home runs, including a grand slam by Addison
Barger. That was all she wrote!
It was a very Blue Jays type of approach. They put the ball in play. They didn’t strike out. And they got many, many timely heads to earn a dominant victory. Trey Yesavage pitched fine, giving them four solid innings as the starter. And our old friend Seranthony Domínguez snagged the win with his 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.
The win for the Blue Jays is something of a head turner. In the build up to this series it felt as if people were ready to crown the Dodgers, speaking about them like presumptive winners, a dynasty in the making. Not so fast! These Jays are a good team. They have now won five of their last six games and seem like a freight train that isn’t about to slow down.
But that could also be my recency bias talking. They just looked amazing on Friday. Who knows if they can sustain it. We will find out tonight. Game 2 gets underway at 8 p.m. with a matchup of Kevin Gausman and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Toronto.
Links
Previewing The 2025-26 Free Agent Class: Starting Pitcher | MLB Trade Rumors
The Orioles need to add to a legitimate starter to their rotation this winter. While their internal crop has upside, it also has plenty of uncertainty. Mike Elias has often looked to the free agent market for one-year stopgaps, but maybe he gets gutsy and finally hands out a big deal to a pitcher.
Can Grayson Rodriguez return to Orioles’ rotation and stay there? | Roch Kubatko
If Rodriguez makes it back into the Orioles rotation at any point in 2026, that feels like a win. Regardless of what his medicals are saying right now, they should not count on it. Instead, treat the staff as if he isn’t there. Beef up the options. Be aggressive. And then if Rodriguez can go, that’s great! An injury to someone else on the staff is probably going to happen. That is the reality of modern baseball.
Basallo, Beavers made notable debuts for Orioles in 2025 | Baltimore Baseball
The 2026 Orioles are going to be frothing with interesting options to plug into the lineup. It’s just tough to say how good any of those options are going to be. Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers will still be rookies. Many of the older players took steps backwards in 2025. It remains to be seen how aggressive Elias gets in free agency or on the trade market. There is potential all over. We just need to see some of it come to fruition.
Seranthony Domínguez, bound for the World Series, is the final 2025 Orioles player left standing | The Baltimore Banner
As the Orioles look to rebuild their bullpen for 2026, it is possible that Domínguez is mentioned as a solution. He’s probably not a closer option, but the team needs veterans in the middle and late innings too. After a solid contract year between Baltimore and Toronto, he is likely to have a few suitors.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Tito Landrum turns 71 today. The outfielder had a nine-season career that included two short stints with the Orioles, split between 1983 and ‘88.
- The late Bobby Thomson (b. 1923, d. 2010) was born on this day. He played in just three games for the 1960 Orioles, his last action in a 15-year MLB career.
This day in O’s history
We’re in the clear! According to Baseball Reference, nothing embarrassing has happened to the Orioles on this day. At least, not yet. Today could be the day that changes. Until then, here are some happenings from beyond Birdland:
1861 – The Toronto Stock Exchange is created.
1940 – Benjamin O. Davis Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.
1990 – The Kazah Soviet Socialist Republic declares its sovereignty from the Soviet Union.
2001 – Microsoft releases Windows XP, one of their most successful operating systems.
