Don’t look now, but the Orioles might be bad again. Or maybe they never stopped. After starting the series with a chance to build upon the momentum of their three-game sweep of the Rays, the O’s instead have sputtered, dropping two straight one-run losses to the Blue Jays. Both were eminently winnable games that the Orioles let slip away, and now they’ll have to win two in a row just to earn a split of the series.
Brandon Young will look to sustain the recent stretch of success of the Orioles’ starting
rotation, Trevor Rogers’ seventh-inning collapse last night notwithstanding. Young has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last four starts, with the O’s winning all four. The only other time he’s faced the Blue Jays, last July 29, he delivered six strong innings and two runs, one of just two quality starts for him in all of 2025.
But the O’s offense will have to contend with Jays rookie Trey Yesavage, who last year had a meteoric rise all the way from Low-A to the majors and ended up making five postseason starts in the Jays’ run to a near-championship. Yesavage started this year on the IL but has made six starts and hit the ground running, posting a 2.25 ERA and 1.063 WHIP. No current O’s batter has ever faced him, which could put them at a disadvantage.
The Orioles are mostly using their regular starters today, with the exception of right field, where Jeremiah Jackson is making his first outfield appearance of the season. So if you thought the whole infielders-in-the-outfield experiment was over, think again.
Orioles lineup:
LF Taylor Ward
SS Gunnar Henderson
C Adley Rutschman
1B Pete Alonso
DH Samuel Basallo
3B Coby Mayo
CF Leody Taveras
2B Jackson Holliday
RF Jeremiah Jackson
RHP Brandon Young
Blue Jays lineup:
DH George Springer
LF Nathan Lukes
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
CF Daulton Varsho
3B Kazuma Okamoto
RF Jesús Sánchez
2B Ernie Clement
SS Andrés Giménez
C Tyler Heineman
RHP Trey Yesavage
