Anthony Santander hit two home runs, Dean Kremer pitched six strong innings, and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0 on Wednesday night. The Orioles extended their streak of series without being swept to 80 and maintained their two-game lead in the AL East. Toronto fell one game behind Seattle for the final AL wild-card spot.
Ryan Mountcastle went 1 for 3 with an RBI, extending his major league-leading on-base streak to 28 games.
Kremer, who was originally scheduled to start the series finale on Thursday, was moved up a day to replace Jack Flaherty. Kremer pitched on six days’ rest and delivered a solid performance, allowing five hits with no walks and five strikeouts. The Orioles’ bullpen of Jacob Webb, Yennier Cano, and Shintaro Fujinami combined for three scoreless innings to secure the victory.
Kevin Gausman, who previously pitched for the Orioles from 2013-2018, started for the Blue Jays and gave up two runs on five hits in six innings. Gausman also recorded nine strikeouts, taking over the AL lead in strikeouts with 196.
The Orioles took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning when Gunnar Henderson doubled and scored on a single by Mountcastle. Kremer retired nine consecutive batters before allowing a single to George Springer in the fourth. Santander, who missed the past three games due to a back issue, hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 2-0. He added another home run in the eighth inning, and the Orioles scored four more runs to secure the win.
In other news, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde took batting practice before the game, which was his first time swinging a bat in the cage since 2006. He jokingly mentioned that the older you get, the heavier the bat feels.
On the injury front, Blue Jays pitcher Chad Green made a rehab appearance, and Orioles pitcher Keegan Akin was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
In the next game, the Blue Jays will send José Berríos to the mound, while the Orioles have yet to announce their starting pitcher.
