Henderson, Mountcastle and Santander combine for 10 RBIs as O's rout Toronto 13-3 (updated)

TORONTO – On the night the Orioles acquired another starter for the stretch drive – getting right-hander Jack Flaherty from St. Louis – current starter Kyle Bradish could not hold an early 3-0 lead.

But for the 2023 Orioles, that was not a problem. Not at all.

Gunnar Henderson hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth, hot-hitting Ryan Mountcastle drove in two more runs and Anthony Santander hit his second career grand slam as the Orioles whipped Toronto 13-3 to improve to 66-41 on the year. They are now 5-0 this season at Rogers Centre and are a season-high 25 games over the .500 mark.

The Orioles have now gone 10 straight American League East series without losing one, their longest streak since 11 in a row from Aug. 1-Sept. 30, 2012. The Orioles are 21-9 (.700) in their past 30 division games in this run of winning.

The 3-3 tie was erased when they scored one in the sixth, three in the seventh and four runs in the eighth. They added two in the ninth for 10 unanswered runs after the 3-3 tie. 

Henderson’s homer provided the Orioles a 4-3 lead as he led off the sixth by hitting No. 18 to knock Toronto lefty Hyun Jin Ryu from the game. Ryu left a 2-2 changeup in the middle of the plate and Henderson hit the ball into the right-field corner for a 335-foot go-ahead longball.

“He is just getting better and better," Hyde said of Henderson, who has a .922 OPS since June 1. "Fun to watch a guy turning into what he is turning into right now, which is a force at the plate. The way he manages an at-bat, the power he has, the way he manages left-handers the last month or two. It’s been incredible. We are super, super excited about him and his future. A huge homer for us tonight off a tough lefty.”

It was his second homer this year off a lefty and second of the season in 89 plate appearances against southpaws. It was his second homer in two games in this series and his seventh over his past 21 games. Henderson keeps improving in left-on-left battles.

“Yeah, it was a matter of getting the reps," Henderson said. "Like I’ve said before, just didn’t really get a lot of consistent left-on-left at-bats in the minors. Here you face the best, and they’re here for a reason. Knew it would take some time, and it’s starting to show now."

And he added this tonight. As well as he's played in all phases for several weeks now, he feels he could still find a higher gear.

“I haven’t really felt like I’ve shown the whole package yet, still feel like I’m getting going a little bit," Henderson said. "Just now getting comfortable with everything and allowing my instincts to take over, and I feel like that’s been a big thing for me." 

Up by one run, the O’s added three big insurance runs in the seventh. That inning featured Mountcastle’s third hit of the night, an RBI double to left for a 5-3 lead. It featured Henderson’s hot smash up the middle off the glove of shortstop Santiago Espinal that went for a two-run single.

Henderson and Mountcastle combined for six RBIs, with Henderson driving in four. Mountcastle, with a career .996 OPS against Toronto pitching, went 3-for-4 and drove in two, hitting three balls 100 mph or more.

The Orioles offense, as has been the case a few times in recent days, got off to a fast start tonight. They led 3-0 after the top of the second.

The Orioles scored two runs in the second inning on Saturday versus the Yankees, seven in the first Sunday night and scored four in the first three innings here on Monday.

Ryu made his 2023 season debut tonight against the Orioles. He last pitched in a big league game on June 1, 2022, and shortly after that had Tommy John surgery. He made four rehab outings in the minors before rejoining the Jays rotation tonight.

And the O’s got right at him tonight when Adley Rutschman led off with a double on a ball struck 104 mph. Mountcastle doubled him home for the 1-0 lead. He smoked that ball 110 mph off the bat to left-center. It was his 40^th RBI in 47 career games versus Toronto. Santander’s single put runners on the corners and Mountcastle scored on Henderson’s RBI grounder for a 2-0 lead in the first.

The Orioles are now 36-10 this year when they score first.

Their lead grew to 3-0 against Ryu in the second. Ramón Urías hit a leadoff double 107 mph and scored on Rutschman’s grounder up the middle with two outs.

But Toronto rallied against Bradish after he fanned three around a two-out walk in the last of the first. Danny Jansen’s two-run homer in the second, his 15^th coming on a first-pitch slider, made it a 3-2 game. When Brandon Belt homered to the opposite field in the third, a shot to left on a 2-0 fastball, the O’s lead was gone and it was a 3-3 tie. Belt hit No. 9.

But the Orioles surged back ahead, scoring eight runs in the sixth through the eighth. Ryan McKenna's two-run single in the ninth off Toronto trade acquisition Jordan Hicks completed the scoring. 

Bradish allowed four hits and three runs over seven innings as Toronto went just 1-for-13 against him from the fourth through the seventh.

“I think I got the sinker working," Bradish said of getting better as the game went on. "Adjusted the grip and got a lot more movement. Got a little pissed off after those two homers. Kind of lit a fire under me for letting that three-run lead get away early. But I was battling, get into the seventh and keep the team in it, and then the offense exploded. It was incredible.”

He threw 98 pitches and improves to 7-6 with a 3.32 ERA. This was his first career win in seven starts against Toronto.

The Orioles are 12-1 when their starting pitcher goes seven or more innings.

The Orioles are 7-1 this year versus Toronto and have held the Blue Jays to 26 runs. The Birds have won four of five, nine of 13 and 17 of 23 games.

Toronto (59-49) was 21-7 the previous 28 games before this series. The Blue Jays are just 7-22 for the year in AL East games.

The Orioles had 16 hits with five players having multi-hit games, produced six extra-base hits and went 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position. 

Hyde was asked about the addition of Flaherty.

“I saw Jack in St. Louis back a few years ago. He was a big-time prospect arm at that time," he said. "We’re excited to have him join us."

Hyde added that there is a chance Flaherty will get his first Orioles start on Thursday.

Minor league note: Per a source, the Orioles are promoting the No. 33 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, outfielder Dylan Beavers, from High-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie. Beavers had an .826 OPS in 84 games with the IronBirds. The O's are also moving outfielder Shayne Fontana from Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk, and outfielder Trendon Craig from Single-A Delmarva to Aberdeen.