Orioles can't maintain Opening Day momentum and lose 8-2 (updated)

TORONTO – Charlie Morton paced back and forth in the dugout, the frustration keeping the veteran starter on his feet. His Orioles debut lasted 80 pitches in only 3 1/3 innings, two inherited runners scored and a lead fell apart like his outing.

There will be better days and nights for Morton. This one was a challenge from the beginning with a barrage of hard-hit balls from a Blue Jays team perhaps still ornery from yesterday’s Opening Day beatdown.

Jackson Holliday homered in the third inning and Tyler O’Neill had a sacrifice fly in the fourth, but the Jays put five runs on the board in the bottom half and won 8-2 at Rogers Centre.

No one’s getting a sweep in this series.

The Orioles raised the bar yesterday with 12 runs and six homers, but the bats calmed tonight. They were held to three hits and committed two errors.

“That’s part of baseball," Holliday said. "It’s obviously very tough to replicate what we did last night every night. But we’ve got tomorrow. Obviously, not the result we’re looking for as a team, but we’ve got tomorrow to get after it.

"Yeah, that’s what we’re searching for every night, what we did the first night, but it’s tough to do that.”

Albert Suárez’s first pitch after relieving Morton bounced past catcher Adley Rutschman to break a 2-2 tie. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s sacrifice fly completed Morton’s line – four runs and seven hits – and Jorge Mateo’s throwing error after Anthony Santander singled allowed Bo Bichette to score for a 5-2 lead.

Morton threw 23 pitches in a scoreless first inning, striking out Andrés Giménez on a curveball and Alejandro Kirk on a 95.3 mph fastball to leave runners on the corners. His four-seamer maxed out at 97.1 mph.

Will Wagner doubled with one out in the second and was stranded. Nathan Lukes struck out to end an eight-pitch at-bat, and Morton returned to the dugout with his count at 41. Guerrero singled with one out in the third, but Morton got a foul popup and ground ball to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

Being on the edge is a dangerous way to live, and the Jays loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth on three consecutive singles. Lukes walked with the count full to force in a run, and Alan Roden’s sacrifice fly finished Morton.

"Give them credit for how they swung the bat," said manager Brandon Hyde. "I thought they took good at-bats against us, especially in the fourth inning there, and we just had a tough time putting out the fire there for him.”

"I think they did a really good job handling my breaking ball," Morton said. "The four-seamer for me tonight, I don’t know. It’s been a while since that pitch actually played up and I felt like it was. I wasn’t throwing like particularly hard. I got above a lot of barrels, which is kind of weird for me. I think I got one out on a breaking ball tonight, which is really strange. I don’t know. It was kind of like, I threw a couple cutters, I got a couple outs with the cutter. I had a couple swing and misses with it. I threw a couple decent changeups. But really, I just think having relied so heavily on my breaking ball for a very long time now, and then not really seeing it get outs on contact. Just like weak contact. It was just a very strange night to see my four-seamer play the way it did and to see the curveball not play the way it did.”

This isn't how Morton wanted to begin his Orioles career in his 18th season in the majors.

"I didn’t pitch well. I wish I had, but there’s nothing I can do about it now," he said. "I went out and we had a game plan and I tried to execute it, and like I said, I think it was just strange. I think that four-seamer for me was not playing last year and to see it maybe a little bit more of a weapon I could use. But I mean, really, the curveball’s going to come. The curveball, the shape, kind of how I’m throwing it. I think the movement’s there, I think the spin’s there. I think really it’s just kind of dialing it in and figuring out … just letting it go a little bit more, letting it take care of itself. Other than that, I really don’t know.

"I got into the fourth inning and I come in and it’s like, man, I’m kind of working behind some guys. I go 0-2 on the first three guys and they all get hits. And to top it off, I give up another hit on the breaking ball and shoot, it’s bases loaded, a high-pressure situation again in the fourth inning. It was just a very taxing outing.”

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman warmed up tonight to Pink Floyd’s “Money.”

The Orioles were slower to cash in than on Opening Day. Gausman retired nine of the first 10, but Holliday hit a 425-foot opposite field home run in the third inning at 109 mph off the bat.

“I’m not expecting him to hit balls in the seats in the opposite-field gap, but that was really, really impressive," Hyde said. "Really talented guy. He’s super young. He’s still learning the big leagues, and taking Kevin Gausman deep like that, it’s impressive.”

Holliday was anticipating a fastball.

“Yeah, that’s what I was looking for," he said. "I was looking to hit a low line drive, kind of through that gap, because he’s got a good splitter. Put a good swing on it and that’s kind of what I was looking for. Obviously, not trying to hit a homer, but trying hit a low, hard line drive, and looking for a heater.

"I squared it up and I was like, ‘Hopefully that’s got a chance.’ I think that’s the hardest spot to hit in pro ball. My buddy texted me and was like, ‘What was that?’ I’m like, ‘That’s a good question. I don’t really know.’ But hopefully if I can stick to that approach of hitting line drives to the gap like that, I’ll be in a good spot, so very happy with it.”

O’Neill's sac fly in the fourth came after Rutschman drew a leadoff walk and Ryan O’Hearn singled with one out. Holliday reached on an infield hit in the fifth – halfway to the cycle – but Gausman retired eight of the last nine batters.

The former Orioles first-round draft pick allowed two runs and three hits in six innings and threw 67 of 97 pitches for strikes.

Asked what he saw from the offense, Hyde said, "I saw three hits."

"I thought Gausman was really good," he said. "I thought he was tough on our lefties with the slider he was kind of jamming us with. We hit some balls hard early. A little bit unlucky offensively early, but he’s a good starting pitcher. We just had a tough time kind of getting things going against him.”

Hyde had to manage differently tonight with so few runs scored and his bullpen needed by the fourth. Zac Eflin completed six innings yesterday and Hyde could use Seranthony Domínguez, Keegan Akin and Bryan Baker in low-leverage situations. He warmed Gregory Soto and sat down the left-hander as the lead expanded. 

Suárez allowed one earned run and two total with five hits in 2 2/3 innings. He also had two wild pitches, but Rutschman picked off George Springer at third base to end the fifth and threw out Bichette trying to steal second to end the sixth. Bichette had an RBI single for a 6-2 lead.

Pinch-hitter Ernie Clement golfed a Cionel Pérez breaking back into the left-field corner for a two-run double in the seventh after a walk, infield hit and balk. Soto tossed a scoreless eighth after hitting Bichette, striking out three batters.

The Orioles loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth and Ryan Mountcastle struck out on three pitches.

* Suárez's velocity was down, but Hyde said, "He felt good coming out." ... O’Hearn has been robbed twice in two games on diving catches from the center fielder Springer yesterday and Roden in left tonight. … Gunnar Henderson went 1-for-3 at Triple-A Norfolk with a single clocked at 105.9 mph off the bat, and he committed an error. … Dylan Carlson hit a solo homer for the Tides. … The Blue Jays announced their attendance as 26,289.