The Orioles came into today’s game looking to avoid a sweep, but they had to rely fully on the bullpen to do so. They also had to rely on a slumping offense to score more than a few runs. Neither of those worked out very well. In fact, things went very, very poorly. The offense managed just two runs, both on solo homers. And the bullpen fell apart behind a young man making his Major League debut. The Orioles lost big, 11-2, and were swept out of Toronto.
The Orioles scored first, as has been the case
in every game this series. They wasted runners on the corners in the first inning when Jeremiah Jackson grounded into a double play, but did get a run the very next inning courtesy of a Coby Mayo home run. It was Mayo’s 9th home run of the season and second in as many games. It’s been discouraging watching Mayo this season, but I still have hope in his future. Maybe this is the start of good things to come.
Starter Albert Suárez looked strong through two innings, with a walk to Davis Schneider the only miscue. In the third inning, the Blue Jays tied the game on back-to-back doubles from Andrés Giménez and George Springer. Suárez completed three innings and left with the game tied, 1-1. His 53 pitches were the most he’s thrown in his short season.
Grant Wolfram followed Suárez and his pitching line looks bad. Two runs on three hits in one inning. But he had a little bit of tough luck. The first two hits didn’t leave the infield. Jackson Holliday made a nice stop on a ball up the middle from Alejandro Kirk but there was no play to be made. And Daulton Varsho followed with a soft single to the right side that Mayo got to, but the runner beat out the throw he made to Wolfram covering.
Those two cheap hits set up a double from Ernie Clement. He hit one sharply to the third base side that nicked the base on its way out to left field. Both runners were able to score and the Orioles were down 3-1.
A 3-1 deficit is manageable to get out of, but the Orioles’ offense was having none of that. After the Mayo homer in the second, they didn’t have another hit until Alex Jackson singled with two outs in the fifth. They didn’t get their second and final run until the seventh.
After Wolfram, it was Major League debut time for Carson Ragsdale. Ragsdale was drafted in the third round of the 2020 draft by the Phillies and had appeared in 88 games in the minors over the past five seasons. The Blue Jays gave him a very rude welcome.
The first batter Ragsdale faced was George Springer, who is having a fantastic season at age 35. Ragsdale went 3-0 on Springer, then threw what looked like a borderline ball four. It was called a strike, and on the next pitch, Springer launched a massive home run to left field. Ragsdale gave up an RBI double in the sixth inning as well.
The last time the game had a respectable score was in the top of the seventh inning. Colton Cowser is having a terrible time lately. He came into the game hitting .121 in September and just .170 since the start of August. Jays’ starter Shane Bieber had been flummoxing the Orioles with his breaking pitches all game, so when Cowser saw a first-pitch fastball, he went for it. He did not miss. His 14th home run was a beauty, which is nice because the bottom half of the inning became a blood bath for poor Carson Ragsdale.
Springer came up for the second time against Ragsdale and walloped a double. Seven batters reached base in the inning before a single out was made. Some Blue Jays hit the ball hard. Some hit the ball softly. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. took a walk. They all reached base. Runs kept scoring. I kept getting more and more sad for this poor guy making his MLB debut. I grabbed a scene from the inning for anyone who didn’t get to watch:
When the dust settled and Springer struck out to end the 7th, the score was 11-2. After at 1-2-3 top of the eighth, Ragsdale’s day came to a merciful end. He is certain to get optioned after the game. Maybe he’ll get another shot in the majors, maybe not. He was clearly sent out as a sacrificial lamb today, which stinks for him. Hopefully, he does get another chance and it goes a lot better.
Position player Luiz Vázquez came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth and, thanks to some nice infield defense, pitched a 1-2-3 inning. His pitch velocity ranged from 31.5-34.6 mph. He was the only Oriole pitcher who did not allow a run.
Orioles lose, 11-2. The pitching was bad. The hitting was bad. The end result was a sweep by the Blue Jays. The Orioles head to Chicago tomorrow for three games with the White Sox. Maybe they can win one or two of those.
