Orioles rally past Blue Jays 5-4 in doubleheader opener

Posted October 05, 2022 7:00 am

By NOAH TRISTER

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle waits for a pitch to the Toronto Blue Jays during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Associated Press

BALTIMORE (AP) - Terrin Vavra hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game of a doubleheader Wednesday.

It was the first career homer for Vavra, and it capped Baltimore's rally from a 4-0 deficit. Gabriel Moreno hit his first career home run for the Blue Jays, a three-run shot in the sixth.

'œIt would be nice to maybe get off the deck in the first to the fifth and then cruise in. That's what I'm hoping for once in a while,'ť Orioles manager Brandon Hyde joked. 'œWe like to make it tough, and then pitch out of jams, and then pop one late to get a win.'ť

Faced with the task of navigating 18 innings of baseball while also preparing for their playoff series, the Blue Jays used a different pitcher for each of the first four innings. Then Mitch White took over and worked the final four.

White (0-5) allowed five runs and seven hits.

DL Hall (1-1) earned his first career victory in relief, and Bryan Baker worked a perfect ninth for his first career save.

The doubleheader was scheduled after the teams were rained out Tuesday. The Blue Jays had already wrapped up the top wild card in the American League, and the Orioles had already clinched a winning season.

Mike Baumann allowed four runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings for Baltimore.

Otto Lopez opened the scoring for Toronto with an RBI single in the second. After Moreno's drive to right-center made it 4-0, Austin Hays hit a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth for the Orioles.

Hall allowed singles to the first two batters of the eighth, but he worked out of that jam. That set the stage for Vavra's big hit.

'œI think he's come up here and shown the ability to take a major league at-bat,'ť Hyde said. 'œAnd the ability to manage the strike zone.'ť

Lopez had three hits for the Blue Jays, and Ryan Mountcastle had three for the Orioles.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Orioles: Baltimore could have started Jordan Lyles on normal rest Wednesday but decided to let him end his season after a career-high 32 starts.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays had not announced a starter for the second game of the doubleheader. Baltimore was set to start Spenser Watkins (5-6).

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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister

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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Baltimore Orioles right fielder Austin Hays (21) falls while running out of the batting box on a dribbler during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in Baltimore. Hays was called out on an interference ruling when Toronto Blue Jays catcher Gabriel Moreno was unable to get to the ball. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Associated Press

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Yimi Garcia throws a pitch to the Baltimore Orioles during the third inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Associated Press

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Mitch White throws a pitch to the Baltimore Orioles during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Associated Press

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