Orioles score 5 runs in 9th to beat Blue Jays 6-5

BALTIMORE — It’s never too late to find a groove.

That was the Baltimore Orioles’ lesson Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays. After struggling to bring runners home for the first two games and most of the third of this week’s series, Baltimore finally found the late-inning magic it had been missing.

After leaving six runners on base and grounding into more double plays (four) than hits (three), the Orioles flipped the script in the ninth, putting seven straight batters on base before Pete Alonso’s game-winning single to right field erased the frustration.

Baltimore overcame a four-run deficit in the ninth to escape with a 6-5 win, its third walk-off in the past seven days. The Orioles walked 11 times, including three times in the ninth, to fuel the comeback. The last time Baltimore came back to win after trailing by four or more runs in the ninth inning was April 2013.

The rally began when Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman hit Coby Mayo with a pitch, giving Baltimore its first runner with one out. Leody Taveras tripled on the first pitch he saw in the next at-bat, slicing a ball to right field to bring Mayo home. Jackson Holliday followed four pitches later, knocking a single to right to score Taveras.

Colton Cowser advanced Holliday to third with a double, and Taylor Ward drew a walk to load the bases. Gunnar Henderson recorded another walk to bring Holliday home.

Hoffman was replaced by Connor Seabold, who walked Adley Rutschman to bring home Cowser. Alonso then delivered the game-winning hit past the drawn-in infield for his first walk-off as an Oriole. Alonso had been 0 for 8 with the bases loaded this season.

Brandon Young held steady through the first three innings in his eighth start for Baltimore, allowing just two hits while striking out four. Henderson reached third with two outs in the first, but Alonso struck out to end the threat.

The Orioles broke through in the third with Young still dealing. Jeremiah Jackson, starting in right field, and Ward both walked before Henderson lined a single to center, scoring Jackson from second. Rutschman walked in the next at-bat to load the bases, but Alonso grounded into a double play, leaving Baltimore with just one run.

Then the Orioles unraveled defensively in the fourth.

Taveras misplayed a ball in center field, allowing Jesús Sánchez’s double to sail over his head and bring home Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after his leadoff single. Ernie Clement followed with a single to center, and Taveras bobbled the transfer as Sánchez scored without a throw home.

Sánchez might have scored anyway, but the mistake did Baltimore no favors. One inning after taking the lead, the Orioles trailed 2-1.

Baltimore quickly loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half, but a familiar problem resurfaced: The Orioles could not build on the momentum. Jackson grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Another chance came in the sixth. With Yariel Rodríguez in for starter Trey Yesavage, who limited the Orioles to two hits but walked seven, Alonso reached third with two outs. Taveras struck out swinging to end the frame.

All the while, Young was delivering perhaps his best start of the season. The 27-year-old struck out a career-high seven batters on 86 pitches before exiting with two outs in the seventh.

He leaned on his four-seam fastball, throwing it 29% of the time and generating a 38% whiff rate. He complemented it with his curveball, which he threw 21% of the time and used to produce a 29% whiff rate.

Anthony Nunez recorded the final out of the seventh, and all three Orioles batters were retired in the bottom frame by the newly inserted Tyler Rogers.

Nunez was pulled in the eighth after allowing consecutive singles to Nathan Lukes and Guerrero to open the inning. Keegan Akin then watched Kazuma Okamoto send both runners home with a double off an 87.5 mph slider, though Akin did not allow any more damage.

Nunez has struggled against Toronto. He walked three and issued the go-ahead bases-loaded walk in Thursday’s 2-1 loss, then allowed two earned runs on two hits Saturday.

No Orioles reached again in the eighth, with Louis Varland striking out Rutschman to end the frame. Albert Suárez allowed another run to score in the ninth on a double by Guerrero, aided by a fielding error from Cowser in right field. It was Suárez’s first appearance since returning to the club for the fourth time this season.

Samuel Basallo appeared to suffer a left shoulder injury after striking out against Hoffman to begin the ninth, before the late rally began.

Around the horn

— Ryan Helsley threw 15-20 pitches in a pregame bullpen session Saturday, manager Craig Albernaz said. The right-hander hasn’t pitched since April 28 because of elbow inflammation. Helsley’s absence has left Baltimore without its closer for more than a month after he posted a 2.53 ERA with seven saves in 12 appearances before missing time. “It’s also been a blessing in the sense that a lot of these relievers are getting exposed to different situations,” Albernaz said. “Ultimately, it kind of raises the floor of your pen.”

— Right-hander Yennier Cano said he was dehydrated during Wednesday’s appearance against the Rays, which he believes led to his right hamstring discomfort. The 32-year-old allowed three straight singles and a walk in the eighth, forcing in a run before he departed for the clubhouse without recording an out. Cano returned Friday but surrendered three hits, including Guerrero’s go-ahead two-run double in the eighth. “The previous outing, I wasn’t feeling well,” Cano said Saturday. “This last outing, it’s just the way baseball goes sometimes.”

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