Orioles homer twice, Mullins breaks tie with two-run double and Bautista notches season's first save in 5-4 win (updated)

The Orioles brought back their hydration station today, hoping to finally need it.

They weren’t hitting home runs. They weren’t doing much scoring. The first 13 batters were retired this afternoon. The dugout hoses were more decorative than functional.

And then, in a flash, they had a purpose again.

Heston Kjerstad cleared the center field fence in the fifth against Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis after Cedric Mullins walked. Adley Rutschman barreled a sinker with two outs in the sixth, took a couple steps and flipped his bat. The game was tied and Camden Yards was loud.

Mullins gave the Orioles a lead with a two-run double in the inning and the Orioles tied the club record with five double plays turned in a 5-4 victory before an announced crowd of 22,130.

The Orioles (6-8) appeared on the verge of falling four games below .500 for the first time since July 7, 2022. That team was in the midst of a 10-game winning streak. The current group had lost six of eight before today.

“We just needed a spark," said manager Brandon Hyde.

Félix Bautista worked around a pair of walks and pinch-runner Myles Straw's stolen base in the ninth for his first save since Aug. 24, 2023 and the Orioles’ first save this season. They didn’t have an opportunity before today.

Gregory Soto retired the side in order in the eighth and Bautista stranded two runners in scoring position by striking out Bo Bichette.

“You know Bichette or (Vladimir) Guerrero is coming up there at the end," Hyde said. "That’s just how it works when you play the Blue Jays. It seems like that’s how it’s been the last few years." 

"Love how he kept his composure. That was the first time he’s been in that situation, a save situation against a team that’s playing really well. The fan support behind him, I thought was really huge and made some huge pitches on Bichette there.”

Francis retired the first 13 batters before Mullins walked in the fifth, and Kjerstad’s two-run homer – his first of the season - snapped the Orioles’ scoreless streak at 15 innings. They had tallied one run in the last 21.

"Just to get your first home run on the year is always nice to get it under your belt. But most importantly, I got us on the board there, got us kind of rolling there in the middle of the game," Kjerstad said.

"Their starter was throwing really good up to that point, and it was good for me and great for the team."

Kjerstad’s shot to center field, measured at 409 feet, was the third by the Orioles in their last 11 games after totaling 10 in the first three, the fewest in the majors. Rutschman drove a sinker to right-center at 426 feet with an exit velo of 108.8 mph, and he knew immediately that it was gone.

"There’s been some games where it’s been close, we’ve been needing that big hit, kind of get us going," said Ryan O'Hearn. "It was a big homer. Guys hit some big homers, show some emotion, it was awesome."

“I think Adley delivered exactly what we needed there," Mullins said. "Not only with the home run but with his attitude after, too. Someone who’s ready to get after it and someone who’s ready to get this win. That’s what it felt like.”

Hyde praised Francis but also thought his guys were pressing.

"Made some early outs," he said. "Guys trying to get it going instead of just kind of letting the game happen a little bit. Kjerstad with a huge hit for us to put us on the board."

O’Hearn walked, Jordan Westburg reached on an infield single and Mullins lined a ball into the 90-degree angle in left-center. Alan Roden mishandled it and Mullins raced to third base. Mullins leads the Orioles with 16 RBIs and is tied for fourth in the majors.

“Well, he does that," Hyde said. "I just love the energy with what Cedric’s playing. He’s playing with a ton of confidence, great defense for us. You want him up there in a big spot. You know it’s gonna be a really competitive at-bat. He’s playing no-nonsense right now and he’s just got a ton of life to his body and is playing extremely hard.”

The last Orioles double play came in the seventh after Nathan Lukes doubled off Bryan Baker and Roden singled off Yennier Cano. A run scored to reduce the lead to 5-4.

"I think that might've been our first come-from-behind win late in a game, so I think there was a lot of energy in the dugout today," Rutschman said. "I mean, winning close games like that, being able to come from behind, is something we've been able to do in the past. We have all the makings on this team and character on this team to win close games, so it was nice to do that for the first time this year."

Tomoyuki Sugano jogged to the mound in his all-orange Orioles uniform and was bruised by the first two Toronto batters. More shots would land. Black and blue wasn’t supposed to be part of the color scheme.

Bichette lined a double into left-center field at 109.8 mph and scored on Guerrero's double in the same area at 112.1. A broken-bat single by Andrés Giménez at 65.6 felt like a reprieve.

The 25-pitch inning signaled a short outing from Sugano in his home debut. He lasted 4 2/3 and surrendered a long home run to former Oriole Anthony Santander.

“I was very excited to pitch at home," Sugano said via interpreter Yuto Sakurai. "Obviously, it could have been a better outcome, but yeah, overall, I was just very excited going into the game.”

Three double plays extended Sugano’s outing but he exited at 73 pitches. He allowed three runs and eight hits with two walks and no strikeouts, and his ERA increased from 2.89 to 3.86.

“I thought Tomo was just kind of missing off the edge," Hyde said. "I thought they did a really good job of shrinking the strike zone, and they made him come in to the heart of the plate and when he did, they hit some balls hard off him. Santander was due. You knew that was going to come eventually. I thought he was kind of missing off the edge a little bit and had to come in right over the middle part of the plate.”

Santander led off the third inning with his first Blue Jays home run, launching a fastball 404 feet to right field at 105.7 mph. The only positive for Sugano was getting back to the dugout after only nine pitches.

Santander received a standing ovation in his first at-bat at Camden Yards after signing a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Blue Jays. He faced the Orioles twice in spring training and in the four-game series in Toronto. Today was his homecoming.

Plate umpire Mark Wegner called time to allow Santander to back out of the box and raise his helmet. The Orioles ran a video tribute to their former Rule 5 pick after the bottom of the first inning, and he stepped out of the dugout, pointed to the crowd and folded his arms as if wanting to hug them.

A bouncer back to the mound was followed in his next two at-bats by the home run and a fly ball to the right field track after singles by Bichette and Guerrero. The Orioles turned a 9-4-3 double play after Guerrero left first base too soon, but Sugano wouldn’t face another batter.

Santander wouldn’t do his pregame dugout interview with the Orioles media until interpreter Brandon Quinones sat next to him.

“My man!” Santander said with a huge smile as Quinones joined him for a handshake and hug.

“It feels great coming back to the city that saw me grow as a player, as a person, too. I got here really young. And I’m excited for tonight.”

Santander said it was “weird” going to the visiting clubhouse. The timing worked out where he could walk with Hyde.

“It’s great to see him,” Santander said. “I always say I’m really grateful to him because he gave me an opportunity to be an everyday player and it’s always gonna be really good to have a little chat with him.”

Santander was also able to check out the new left field dimensions, with the wall moved closer to home plate. Too late for him to benefit from it.

“It looks amazing,” he said. “I wish I could have had it the years that I was here. It took away at least seven homers. But that’s the way it is.”

Will Wagner worked Sugano for 10 pitches in the first before lining to Mullins. The Jays led 2-0 in a 20-pitch second that concluded with Guerrero’s double play grounder, which came after Lukes walked with one out and Roden and Bichette singled. Alejandro Kirk led off the fourth with a walk and Lukes grounded into a double play.

A fourth double play was turned in the sixth inning with Baker pitching. He started it by fielding a ground ball between his legs.

The Orioles had a few tricks up their sleeves today. They made an offensive drought disappear. The water flowed. 

“I think this is a good start, just a process-oriented offense that we’ve been looking for," Mullins said. "There’s gonna be a lot of days where we have to fight and grind for those wins just like today but proved to ourselves that we can do that, which was huge today.”

"Good teams come back and find ways to win games," O'Hearn said. "That’s what we did today. I think we’re creating our own identity in 2025. There’s some remnants from 2023 that are similar - Félix closing the game, big hit from Adley, big hit from Cedric. Today was a good step in the right direction."

The clock was turned back by wearing the orange pants for the first time since 2010. It wasn't that long ago that home runs were celebrated with the hoses.

"I think hitting's contagious," O'Hearn said. "You’ve heard it a million times, but it’s true. The hydration station is a cool thing that’s become part of our identity over the last few years, and guys wanted to keep it going. Happy to have that back. We got a new one, it’s all doctored up, it looks great. Hopefully, we get a lot of use out of it."