TORONTO — After getting the best of Yusei Kikuchi for years, the Orioles couldn’t solve the veteran left-hander this time. Baltimore managed only one run against him, and Adley Rutschman’s two home runs were their only source of offense until a last gasp in the ninth inning in a 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Orioles top pitching prospect Cade Povich started in his MLB debut, allowing six runs on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts. He left two runners on base when he exited with one out in the sixth inning after throwing 100 pitches and reliever Dillon Tate allowed both to score on a single by No. 9 hitter Ernie Clement. The big blow against Povich was a three-run home run by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the third, but the only other run scored with him on the mound was on back-to-back soft flares into shallow right field in the fourth.
“I think he was trying to throw a backdoor cutter and just got maybe a little bit too much of the plate but I was really impressed by him,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I liked the way he threw the ball. Just a couple walks before Guerrero that kind of set that up for the home run and then the bad-luck hit in shallow right field, only a few pitches probably he wants back.
“I thought he threw the ball great. Good fastball, I liked his cutter. I like the poise on the mound. He pitched into the sixth inning on the road in his first major start. I thought he did a great job.”
Kikuchi entered the game with a 5.17 ERA in 13 games (10 starts) against the Orioles in his career, but he looked much more like the solid pitcher he has been this season. He went six innings, holding the Orioles to one run — a solo home run by Rutschman — on four hits and six strikeouts. Kikuchi dropped his ERA to 3.48, on pace for the lowest of his career.
“That’s probably the best I’ve seen him against us,” Hyde said of Kikuchi. “He’s been good, but that was 97-98 mph bullets with a really good breaking ball and a changeup that’s really tough to hit. So, give him credit. I thought he threw the ball great.”
Rutschman collected the Orioles’ fourth multi-homer game in six days, swatting his second of the day off Blue Jays reliever and former Orioles prospect Zach Pop for a two-run shot. The switch hitter blasted a homer from each side of the plate, the first time he’s done so in a game in his career. Rutschman is up to 12 home runs this season, tied with the Minnesota Twins’ Ryan Jeffers and the Oakland Athletics’ Shea Langeliers for the most among primary catchers.
“I feel like switch-hitting kind of comes in waves a little bit,” Rutschman said. “It’s just one of those things that usually one side feels good and the other one doesn’t feel as good and kind of just goes back and forth.”
As for the rest of the Orioles’ offense, only three other players recorded a hit over the first eight innings as Baltimore registered just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position. Ryan O’Hearn gave Baltimore life with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to make it a one-run game, but Yimi García struck out Kyle Stowers to end the game. However, it came at a cost. Austin Hays, who was hit by a pitch in the ribs in the ninth, left the clubhouse after the game to get checked out by medical professionals.
The loss forced the Orioles (39-22) to settle for a series split after winning the first two games. They’ll continue their road trip with a flight down to Florida, where the American League East rival Tampa Bay Rays are waiting to host a four-game set. The Orioles have yet to announce any of their starters for the series while they decide how to protect their pitchers during their ongoing stretch of sparse days off. Aaron Civale is scheduled to start the opener for the Rays.
Orioles at Rays
Friday, 6:50 p.m.
TV: MASN2
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
