Tonight in Toronto, the best team in the American League will take the field…and they’ll be playing against the Blue Jays. Hey now!
I kid, of course. It’s the Jays who have the AL’s best record. But your Baltimore Orioles are certainly the hottest team in the American League at the moment. They’re 8-1 in September, having swept both the Padres and Pirates and taking two of three from the Dodgers. While I would stop short of saying that the O’s are clicking on all cylinders, they’ve done just enough
to win a lot of games this month. Now they’ll face their toughest test yet in a Toronto squad that’s on track to win the AL East for the first time in a decade. The Jays will look to rack up some wins to increase their division lead over the Yankees and Red Sox, who are playing each other this weekend.
Tyler O’Neill returns to the Orioles just in time for their visit to his home country. It’s hard to believe that this is the Orioles’ first trip to Toronto since the opening series of the season, when they crushed the Jays 12-2 with six homers on Opening Day. Boy, have the two teams’ fortunes turned ever since. O’Neill socked one of those six dingers in front of his friends and family, extending his MLB-record Opening Day home run streak to six in a row, reaching base all five times in his Orioles debut.
As with the Orioles, it’s been all downhill for O’Neill ever since. He’s returning from his third stint on the injured list this year, this time with right wrist inflammation. He’s been limited to 43 games and is slashing .210/.293/.434 with eight home runs. There’s no chance he’ll exercise his opt-out after this season, but it would be nice if he can be healthy and productive for these last three weeks and come back strong in 2026. It may be a lot to ask, I know.
Orioles lineup:
2B Jackson Holliday
RF Jeremiah Jackson
SS Gunnar Henderson
1B Ryan Mountcastle
LF Dylan Beavers
DH Tyler O’Neill
CF Colton Cowser
C Samuel Basallo
3B Emmanuel Rivera
LHP Trevor Rogers
Blue Jays lineup:
RF George Springer
LF Davis Schneider
DH Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
C Alejandro Kirk
3B Ernie Clement
1B Ty France
2B Isiah Kiner-Falefa
CF Myles Straw
SS Andrés Giménez
RHP Chris Bassitt
