Blue Jays’ loss to Orioles highlights concerning power shift in AL East

BALTIMORE – A year ago, the Orioles were surprising. Pesky enough to make your life difficult, but ultimately not all that threatening. Now, they’re dangerous. 

It’s not just Adley Rutschman, the switch-hitting 25-year-old who doubled twice in Tuesday’s 11-6 win over the Blue Jays. Or Gunnar Henderson, the reigning American League player of the week, who provided the defining swing of the game with a third-inning grand off of starter Chris Bassitt.

It’s also the guys they don’t have room for yet. Take Jordan Westburg, for instance. The 24-year-old's destroying triple-A pitching with 17 home runs and a .978 OPS so far this year. Yet between Henderson, veteran second baseman Adam Frazier, the speedy Jorge Mateo and 2022 Gold Glover Ramon Urias, there’s not exactly room for the infield prospect.

So not only do the 42-24 Orioles have the second-best record in the American League, they have the depth to withstand injuries or make trades from a position of strength. For the 16,018 who filled Camden Yards Tuesday, it’s a fitting reward after years of deliberate losing.

For the Blue Jays, this is not good. Before anyone panics, it’s not fatal, either – as many as four AL East teams could theoretically make the playoffs – but it’s definitely problematic. And more than any other game, Tuesday’s one-sided loss reinforced those changing power dynamics within the Blue Jays’ division.

After falling to 0-4 against Baltimore this year, Toronto manager John Schneider acknowledged the Orioles’ big night at the plate.

"It's damage,” he said. “They hit a lot of homers, (have) a lot of lefties. They're playing to the short part of the field here. Grand slams and multiple run homers, it's tough to defend. That's how they're built and tonight they didn't miss."

Tempting though it may be to dream about life in the AL Central, that’s pointless. The Blue Jays may be 31-15 outside of their division this year, but they know where they play and it’s under those admittedly difficult circumstances that they must attempt to build a championship-calibre team. On Tuesday, they certainly didn’t play like one.

Following two of his best starts as a Blue Jay, Bassitt delivered one of his worst. The Orioles connected for 11 hits against him, including three home runs, on their way to eight runs. As a result, the right-hander's ERA shot up from 3.29 to 4.02.

“You can learn a lot from a bad start,” Bassitt said. “It's part of it. I've had a lot of bad starts in my career ... It's a learning experience of what you need to do to get better. I just wish I'd given my team a better chance to win.”

After Bassitt’s departure, the Blue Jays covered the remaining five innings with Bowden Francis, Mitch White and Thomas Hatch. The trio combined for five innings, allowing three runs in what may be a preview of a bullpen game this weekend against the Rangers.

"Hatch was great (and) I thought Mitch was better than he was the last time," Schneider said. "All three of those guys were good."

Offensively, the Blue Jays had chances early against Baltimore starter Dean Kremer, but they stranded leadoff hits in the second and third and couldn’t match Baltimore’s power as the game progressed despite a late pinch-hit home run from Cavan Biggio.

"Overall, you can't really say anything bad about our offence," Schneider said after a 15-hit effort from the visitors. "These guys, they prepare, they grind. It hasn't quite been working out with guys on base, but total confidence that it'll turn. But while you’re in survival mode, you’ve got to clip a couple that go over the fence.”

If there was a positive for the Blue Jays, it was the return of Danny Jansen, who was activated from the injured list after missing 17 games with a left groin strain. His presence eases the workload on Alejandro Kirk and allowed the Blue Jays to option backup Tyler Heineman before first pitch.

“I felt like I recovered great after about the first week,” said Jansen, who went hitless in five at-bats with four strikeouts. “Then started doing some running stuff, every day kept ramping up and it was good – a smooth rehab.”

Considering Jansen’s potential impact on this team, that’s encouraging news. And despite Tuesday’s loss, the Blue Jays have still won eight of their last 12.

"We're clicking on more cylinders," Jansen said. "This team's definitely dangerous when we're clicking on all cylinders. There's going to be times where we don't and we need to scrap away those games. There's so much fight in this team. We go through skids (occasionally), but we never lose each other in the clubhouse."

The unfortunate thing is, the same can now be said for the Orioles. Only they’re the ones with a 6.0-game lead over the Blue Jays in the AL East standings and the pipeline of prospects ready to join the fun.