Orioles vs Blue Jays Recap: Blue Jays rally to take Sunday

The Orioles came into Sunday's game hungry. They'd dropped their last two games and wanted revenge. Toronto had beaten them 6-4 the night before, so Baltimore was ready to strike back. The moment the game started, you could feel the energy shift. In the fifth inning, Colton Cowser stepped up and crushed a fastball from Kevin Gausman deep to right center. The ball rocketed 400 feet over the wall and the Orioles bench erupted. That was 1-0 Baltimore. But Cowser wasn't done. Blaze Alexander lined a double to center and scored when Taylor Ward launched his own shot to left field. Ward's blast traveled 380 feet. Suddenly it was 4-0 Orioles. Baltimore's lineup was locked in and Toronto's pitcher Gausman looked shaky on the mound. The early explosion gave the Orioles momentum heading into the middle innings.

Toronto wasn't about to roll over. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Blue Jays came alive against Baltimore starter Shane Baz. Yohendrick Pinango stepped in and sent a changeup sailing over the right field wall. The ball traveled 423 feet and suddenly it was 4-1. But Toronto kept fighting. Brandon Valenzuela grounded out to shortstop, but Jesus Sanchez raced home to make it 4-2. Kazuma Okamoto then singled to left, bringing Clement across to tie the game at 4-3. Andres Gimenez doubled to right, and Okamoto scored to give Toronto the 4-4 tie. Then Nathan Lukes reached on an infield single, and Gimenez scampered home with the go-ahead run. The Blue Jays had scored five runs in one inning. Baz was pulled from the game. Toronto now led 4-5 and the momentum had completely shifted.

Baltimore's pitching staff was falling apart. In the eighth inning, reliever Rico Garcia took the mound for the Orioles. Brandon Valenzuela came up with one thing on his mind: finish this game. On a hanging changeup, Valenzuela's bat came alive. The ball flew toward right field and kept going and going until it cleared the wall. His blast traveled 388 feet and suddenly Toronto was up 4-6. That home run put the game out of reach for Baltimore. The Orioles couldn't answer back in their final chances. Toronto's bullpen locked down the ninth inning, and the Blue Jays celebrated their 6-4 victory. With the win, Toronto improved to 32-34 and kept their playoff hopes alive. Baltimore dropped to 31-35 and fell further behind in the standings. The series had turned into a battle, but Toronto pulled away when it mattered most.