Danny Jansen’s two solo home runs weren’t enough for the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost 4-2 to the Baltimore Orioles Thursday afternoon at Camden Yards.
The Jays’ problems against teams in their own section continued. The Queen City team suffered their 17th loss to a team playing in the American League East, winning just seven games.
Gunnar Henderson put the home favorites ahead in the first inning by hitting a single to the right that allowed a runner to cross home plate. Then Jansen made himself felt with two long balls in the third and fifth round.
Adleyrutschman, however, played a trick on the Jays. With a solo hit in the fifth inning, he put both teams in first place. The catcher had hurt the Torontonians the day before when he hit a single in the seventh inning and denied Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios a game without a run or hit.
Outfielder Austin Hays hit the visitors hard in the eighth with a solo home run that widened the gap by two runs.
Toronto starter Yusei Kikuchi was fielded for four and two-thirds of the innings. The southpaw gave the Orioles batters two runs and six hits.
His opponent on the mound, Tyler Wells, allowed the Toronto offense two runs and five hits.
John Schneider’s men will have a tough challenge ahead of them in their next series. They meet America’s second-best team, the Texas Rangers, at Globe Life Field in Arlington. They’re 42-25 this season.
Brief presence for Julien
In Minnesota, Édouard Julien couldn’t change the situation when he was late in the Twins’ clash that ended in an 8-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
The Quebecois’ four-game, one-goal, one-round streak came to an abrupt end. Julien did not start this game. He replaced Michael A. Taylor as the designated hitter in the seventh inning and settled for a weak groundout to first base.
The Twins hit all of their runs on their second bat. The Tigers meanwhile had two innings with three runs. Notably, Javier Baez notched a two-run triple, while Spencer Torkelson put two men on the plate with a double.