TORONTO — Somebody handed the Baltimore Orioles back the remote.
After their lineup went on pause during their loss Friday, the Orioles hit play and their offense resumed its high-octane production led by Jordan Westburg’s first career multi-homer game for a 9-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.
The Orioles began the 2025 season with a 12-run outburst on opening day Thursday but collected only three hits in their second act. Saturday’s performance looked much more like their first as eight of the nine members of Baltimore’s starting lineup reached base. Westburg, who also homered in the opener, left the yard twice with 402- and 434-foot blasts as part of a four-hit day while Colton Cowser led off the game with his first home run of the year.
Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer wasn’t sharp in his first start with his new team and left the game after three innings with right lat soreness. The Orioles jumped on him early and continued to do damage against the Toronto bullpen, scoring at least one run against each of the first four Blue Jays pitchers to enter the game.
Perhaps the biggest hit of the day belonged to Ramón Urías, who stepped up to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth and brought all three runners around to score on a line drive to right field that just cleared the outstretched glove of former Oriole Anthony Santander. Ryan O’Hearn also chipped in with a pair of hits and Cedric Mullins reached twice in addition to stealing his first base of the season.
With 23 combined runs scored since Thursday, the Orioles have scored at least 20 runs over their first three games to begin a season for the third straight year. It’s the longest streak for the ballclub since it moved to Baltimore in 1954.
The offensive explosion prevented Dean Kremer from costing the Orioles after he allowed five runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Kremer struggled to put hitters away as the Blue Jays picked up four hits with two strikes, including a two-run home run by second baseman Andrés Giménez in the second. Bo Bichette led the way for the Blue Jays’ offense on the day with four hits and a walk.
Keegan Akin replaced Kremer in the sixth and worked around a double by designated hitter Will Wagner to get through the frame cleanly. Yennier Cano pitched a scoreless seventh, and after Gregory Soto walked a pair of batters, Seranthony Domínguez put together an encouraging outing by retiring pinch hitter Alan Roden and third baseman Ernie Clement to strand them both in the eighth.
Orioles closer Félix Bautista then entered the game in the ninth for his first MLB appearance since tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow Aug. 25, 2023. He was greeted by an immediate pitch timer violation but struck out center fielder Nathan Lukes and worked around a double by Bichette and walk by Santander to post a zero on the scoreboard.
Instant analysis
As impressive as Westburg’s season was in 2024, when he made the All-Star Game and posted a .792 OPS with 18 home runs in 107 games, there’s still another level the Orioles’ infielder can reach. He’s shown what that might look like over these first three games, getting on base in seven of his first 14 plate appearances and collecting a pair of infield singles Saturday in addition to his two homers.
Outside of Gunnar Henderson, Westburg was perhaps the most valuable hitter in the Orioles’ lineup last season with his ability to come through in RBI situations and keep the line moving — two areas the club struggled with down the stretch when he was sidelined with a fractured right hand. With his speed, natural power and ability to manage the strike zone, Westburg has true five-tool potential and in the middle of the Orioles’ lineup the counting stats should be ...
