Orioles lineup in Toronto (plus notes)

The Orioles begin a four-game series in Toronto tonight with Adley Rutschman settled in as the leadoff hitter and Gunnar Henderson behind him.

Rutschman has reached base six times in two games, including three singles and a walk last night.

Colton Cowser is in center field, flanked by Austin hays in left and Anthony Santander in right.

Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter. He’s a career .306/.368/.613 hitter with 15 home runs in 45 games against the Blue Jays.

Kyle Gibson is 9-6 with a 4.68 ERA and 1.323 WHIP in 22 games, and the one starter who isn’t an innings concern to the Orioles. He’s totaled 127 this season, with his career high 196 2/3 in 2018.

Three of Gibson’s 11 quality starts have been registered this month. He pitched at Rogers Centre on May 19 and held the Blue Jays to one run in seven innings.

Gibson has a lifetime 4.46 ERA and 1.415 WHIP in 12 starts against Toronto and a 4.85 ERA and 1.382 WHIP in five starts at Rogers Centre.

Danny Jansen is 6-for-10 with three doubles. Matt Chapman is 2-for-18 with seven strikeouts, and George Springer is 3-for-19 with five strikeouts.

The Orioles are 5-1 against the Blue Jays this season, sweeping a three-game series in Toronto in May. The last two went into extra innings.

They have a chance to win three straight series against the Jays to start a season for the fourth time, most recently in 2017, according to STATS.

The Orioles have a winning percentage of .615 (32-20) on the road and .604 (32-21) at home. They haven’t finished a season with a .600-plus record both home and away since 1980, per STATS.

Chris Bassitt is 10-5 with a 3.91 ERA and 1.224 WHIP in 22 starts in his first season with the Blue Jays. He started against the Orioles on June 13 at Camden Yards and surrendered eight runs and 11 hits in three innings.

Henderson hit a grand slam. Adam Frazier and Ryan O’Hearn also homered.

Frazier is playing second base tonight and O’Hearn is at first.

Bassitt has a 4.55 ERA and 1.315 WHIP in five career starts against the Orioles.

The Jays are in third place and 5 ½ games behind the Orioles. They’re tied with the Astros for the second wild card.

They are 28-0 when allowing one run or fewer, the most wins in the majors, per STATS. They’ve gone 63-0 since the beginning of 2022.

Toronto is 7-20 against division opponents. The Orioles are 21-13.

Bo Bichette needs two hits to tie John Olerud’s club record (144) for the most before August.

For the Orioles
Adley Rutschman C
Gunnar Henderson 3B
Anthony Santander RF
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Ryan Mountcastle DH
Adam Frazier 2B
Austin Hays LF
Colton Cowser CF
Jorge Mateo SS

Kyle Gibson RHP

Keegan Akin and Mychal Givens began injury rehab assignments today in the Florida Complex League. Akin started and allowed three runs and four hits in the first inning. Givens followed with a scoreless second, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Catcher Samuel Basallo is moving up from Single-A Delmarva to High-A Aberdeen, and catcher Silas Ardoin advances from Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie.

Basallo is the No. 8 prospect in the system, per MLB Pipeline. Ardoin, ranked 29^th, was a fourth-round pick in 2022.