Blue Jays just can't seem to solve impressive Orioles

BALTIMORE – After a game like this you could look for silver linings and you could find them. 

Like the two-homer game from Danny Jansen, for instance. Or the impressive work from Blue Jays relievers, particularly Yimi Garcia and Nate Pearson. Or even the performance of Yusei Kikuchi.

And granted, there were some legitimate positives. Yet it’s the end result that matters most of all and none of those developments were enough to lead the Blue Jays to a win at Camden Yards Thursday afternoon. They lost 4-2, falling to 38-32 on the season and six games behind the Orioles in the American League wild card race.

Suddenly, the Orioles are a legitimate contender in the AL East. Adley Rutschman homered on his way to a three-hit game from the DH spot, Tyler Wells pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the Orioles’ high-powered bullpen held it down from there. And while the Blue Jays kept things close, they were ultimately overmatched.

"It's not exactly where we want to be," manager John Schneider said afterwards. "We can all look each other in the face and say that. We're doing some good things really well (but) kind of sporadically whether it's on the mound or at the plate. We really haven't fired on all cylinders yet. I think (those watching) all kind of know that, too. (But) not for lack of effort and not for lack of prep. So hopefully that gets in sync here pretty quick."

Too often, that’s been the case this season as Toronto’s 1-5 record against Baltimore reflects. Of course there’s still time for the Blue Jays to close that gap, but they’ll be trying to do so against a deep, talented roster. The Yankees and Astros, the other two teams ahead of Toronto in the wild card standings, may prove easier to catch. At 43-25, Baltimore looks like a playoff team.

"They've got some good players that can swing the bat and definitely a good bullpen, too,” Jansen said. “A different team and a better team. A better atmosphere here, too. That's the AL East. Basically five good teams throwing blows at each other." 

But as mentioned, there were some encouraging signs for the Blue Jays despite the loss. In his third game back from a groin injury that sidelined him for two and a half weeks, Jansen connected for two home runs.

That’s impressive in any ballpark, but especially at Camden Yards, where the Orioles recently moved the left field wall back. As Schneider put it Wednesday night: "To get it out to left here, that's big boy stuff."

Indeed it is, and Jansen’s big day didn’t end there as he added a line drive single to centre field in his third at-bat. Moving forward, his bat’s important for the Blue Jays, who haven’t had comparable power from Alejandro Kirk so far in 2023.

Also important for Jansen is his ability to stay even keeled regardless of what the boxscore says. In years past a four-strikeout game like the one he had Friday might have frustrated him more, but since he knew he’d had some good swings he emerged from that hitless night feeling encouraged.

"I've definitely had lots of highs and lows,” he said. “But I feel better about weathering them.”

Kikuchi pitched reasonably well, allowing two runs on six hits, including Rutschman’s home run. The left-hander struck out seven while lowering his season ERA to 4.31. He topped out at 97.4 mph while generating an impressive 19 swinging strikes against Baltimore’s lineup.

"I still feel I had really good stuff," Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. "I'll just keep grinding. I'm looking forward to my next start (in Miami)."

But Wells was even sharper, striking out eight while allowing just two earned runs over 6.2 innings. That set up Baltimore’s late inning duo of Yennier Cano and Felix Bautista, who combined to cover the final 2.1 frames despite some late wobbles from Cano.

Yet as impressive as the Orioles’ bullpen was, the Blue Jays’ relievers offered some positives of their own. Garcia struck out two while topping out at 99 mph and Pearson struck out one while hitting 102 on the radar gun. The biggest blemish for the bullpen: an Austin Hays homer against Erik Swanson to give Baltimore some insurance.

Now, the Blue Jays head to Texas for three games against a 42-25 Rangers team that leads MLB in runs scored. It’ll be a challenging place to turn around their fortunes, especially with a bullpen day scheduled Saturday. Then again, no one said making it back to the playoffs should be easy.

“The atmosphere in the clubhouse is still fine,” Kikuchi said. “There's a lot of veterans in that clubhouse, so we're still going to stick together as one and move forward going to Texas.”