The Toronto Blue Jays were down before the bats were due in the bottom half of the first inning, and the lineup couldn’t find a way to get out of the hole the rest of the way. That, and the pitching staff wasn’t doing them any favours.
The Orioles chased starter José Berríos after five innings, with the right-hander allowing nine hits, three home runs, and six earned compared to two walks and five strikeouts. A solo shot for Adley Rutschman in the first inning tempered the sellout crowd at the Rogers Centre early, and the O’s kept putting the ball over the fence, with Tyler O’Neill contributing a three-run knock (his sixth Opening Day home run in a row – an MLB record) while Cedric Mullins added a solo shot of his own shortly after.
Mullins would add another three-run shot as well in the top of the seventh inning, while Rutschman hit his second home run of the game an inning later, making it 11-2. The boo birds came out a batter later when Jordan Westburg hit a solo homer off Yariel Rodriguez, making it six round trippers on the day.
“It was two, three run homers on two outs, that’s tough to come back from,” said manager John Schneider, speaking about the O’s offense. “They didn’t miss mistakes, and the final score is the final score… glad tomorrow is not Opening Day.”
This is not Berríos’s first time as the Opening Day arm for the Blue Jays – he got the nod in 2022 and last season as well, and his start on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2024 fared a lot better, allowing just two runs across six innings with six strikeouts.
However, this start was not as bad as his 2022 outing against the Texas Rangers, where he couldn’t get out of the first inning and allowed four runs off of three hits and two walks and had to turn it over to the bullpen. The difference between those two games was that the Jays clawed back to win in 2022, and today, they could not. It appears that Opening Day under the bright lights of the Rogers Centre does not bode well in his favour.
Berríos wasn’t the only arm to struggle either – Jacob Barnes, Chad Green, and Yariel Rodriguez all allowed runs today as well, while Richard Lovelady and Nick Sandlin were the only relievers to escape with a zero in the runs column. With the score being 12-2, the club could have used a bench player to close out the game but opted for Sandlin instead, leaving Ernie Clement and his knuckleball at third base.
While Berríos didn’t have his best outing, the Jays’ lineup was stymied by Orioles starter Zach Eflin until the fourth inning, where a Guerrero Jr. walk and an Andrés Giménez home run put two on the board. It was a rematch of sorts for Berríos and Eflin, as the two faced off against each other last year when the Orioles right-hander was a member of the Rays, but this time around, it was Eflin who got the last laugh.
“A breaking ball that was hanging, when he (Giménez) is hitting good, he is hitting that pull side,” said Schneider. “We talked about not changing the at-bat because of where you are hitting. The biggest thing is knowing when to go for it and when to use his contact skills. I loved his swings throughout camp and today, and hopefully that’s what we can expect from him.”
Toronto was limited to just four hits on the day, while the big bats of Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Anthony Santander were kept out of the hits column. Alejandro Kirk got thrown out at second trying to extend a single into a double. Guerrero did contribute with his walk (and later added another), but those three, plus George Springer and Ernie Clement, went hitless on the day. If there was an award for towering fly ball outs on the infield, Santander would be leading the race to start the season.
On top of the rough start and lacklustre bats, a questionable defensive play at first base by Guerrero and Berríos also allowed a run to score in the second inning. The slugger was caught between trying to throw it home and shoving it to first base and ultimately was too late on both, with the runner being called safe at first and the runner from third scoring on the play.
The Blue Jays may have dropped the game, but there were a few positives to note from the contest, even with the lopsided score.
Giménez got off to a strong start with the Jays, his first game with Toronto since being acquired this past offseason from Cleveland. Outfielder Alan Roden also got his first MLB hit out of the way in the sixth inning, producing a groundball up the middle that squeaked by the second baseman. Roden also added a walk late in the game.
“A lot of congratulations,” said Roden, speaking about the first hit. “I have been preparing for this game and ready to go for a long time. When he (Schneider) told me I was starting, it was just an affirmation of what I wanted to go out and do there.”
George Springer also made a highlight-reel grab in centre field, saving a potential extra base hit off the bat of Ryan O’Hearn. The Connecticut product started in centre field with Daulton Varsho out of the lineup, and the veteran outfielder made a similar grab late in spring training as well.
While the Jays’ season won’t be defined in just one game, the club’s Opening Day winning streak stops at five, with Toronto’s losing against the Detroit Tigers back in 2019.