The Baltimore Orioles took three of four games from the Blue Jays this week at Camden Yards, capped off by a 10-4 pounding on Wednesday afternoon.
Paolo Espino was called up from Triple-A Buffalo to make the start for the Blue Jays, as the team needed to fill a spot in their rotation after trading Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros earlier this week. The journeyman allowed four earned runs over four innings of work and struck out one batter.
The Orioles opened the floodgates in the fifth inning when Yerry Rodriguez was brought into the game in place of Espino. Rodriguez loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter and then Jackson Holliday came up to the plate and launched a grand slam over the right field wall.
The home run was the first of Holliday’s Major League career. He came into the 2024 season ranked as the top prospect in baseball but went 2-for-34 across 10 games in his big-league debut before being sent back down to the minors. The O’s called Holliday up from Triple-A following the trade deadline and he immediately made an impact against the Blue Jays.
JACKSON HOLLIDAY!
His first big league homer is a grand slam! pic.twitter.com/UhYSrT2MiQ
— MLB (@MLB) July 31, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The Blue Jays got four runs across the plate in the finale in Baltimore. Addison Barger was the top performer offensively, as he put the team on the board in the third inning with a solo home run and drove in another run in the fourth with a double. The rookie went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs in the loss.
Wednesday’s game in Baltimore also marked the Blue Jays debut of two players. Joey Loperdifo, who was acquired from the Houston Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi trade, started in left field and went 1-for-5 with a single. Luis De Los Santos, one of the longest-tenured players in the organization, came into the game as a defensive replacement and grounded out in his first big-league at-bat.
Up Next… The Blue Jays will be off on Thursday and will start a three-game weekend series with the New York Yankees in The Bronx on Friday.