Blue Jays fall to Orioles in opener of critical three-game series

TORONTO — When there is little runway left to work with as baseball’s regular season winds down, costly mistakes tend to be magnified.

Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got burned on a back-pick play in the first inning of Friday’s 7-4 loss to Baltimore. He was caught too far off first base and catcher Samuel Basallo’s throw to the bag was on target.

“I think he just got out too far and they made a play on him,” said Toronto manager John Schneider.

The out stifled the Blue Jays’ momentum in the opener of a critical three-game series at Rogers Centre.

“They’re hitting the meat of the order,” said Orioles skipper Craig Albernaz. “Yeah, that was a huge play for us to get the second out.”

Alejandro Kirk followed with a walk that could have loaded the bases. Toronto didn’t score in the frame and Baltimore replied with a five-run second inning.

It was a tough night overall for the struggling Guerrero, who had a walk and an infield single in four at-bats.

Boos rained down from the sellout crowd of 42,111 when he waved at a Chris Bassitt curveball with two runners on in the third inning.

The crowd came back when he returned to the plate in the fifth. Spectators chanted his name before he grounded out.

“It’s tough to hear (boos) and then to hear 40,000 (fans) chanting your name,” Schneider said. “So I think what you do in the moment is the most important thing.”

Guerrero’s lone hit came when he legged out a slow chopper in the ninth inning to bring the potential tying run to the plate. Kirk hit into a forceout to end the game.

“He gets a lot of fan reaction – good and bad – and that comes with being him,” Schneider said of Guerrero.

An anchor for the team in recent seasons, Guerrero was a force in the playoffs last fall to help the Blue Jays reach the World Series for the first time since 1993. But this is by far his worst campaign since entering the big leagues in 2019.

His power numbers are way down across the board and he’s hit just eight homers with 54 RBIs. Guerrero, who’s hitting .259, has yet to go deep at Rogers Centre this season.

Toronto has won nine of its last 15 games to get back in the playoff race but has slipped a bit of late, dropping four of six.

The Cleveland Guardians beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Friday to move two games up on Toronto in the race for the final wild-card berth in the American League. The Blue Jays hold the tiebreaker if the two teams finish the season tied.

Dylan Beavers hit a leadoff homer for the Orioles off Toronto starter Max Scherzer. Colton Cowser had a two-run double in Baltimore’s big second inning and Beavers added a two-run single.

“They just beat me,” Scherzer said. “I don’t think I need to go back to the drawing board. I just need to come with a better plan.”

Coby Mayo also hit a solo homer for Baltimore. Kazuma Okamoto and Brett Bateman went deep for the Blue Jays.

The three-game series continues Saturday afternoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2026.