TORONTO — If Baltimore fans were told during spring training that the Orioles and Blue Jays would play meaningful games in mid-September while fighting for a playoff spot, they would’ve surely assumed that was a positive outcome.

They certainly wouldn’t have thought it would look like this.

For months, the Orioles and Blue Jays have jostled between fourth and fifth place in the American League East, yet the two below-.500 ballclubs are both somehow still in the wild-card hunt. Toronto, which entered Friday’s series opener two games ahead of Baltimore, has a better chance to make the postseason, but the Orioles have an opportunity this weekend to flip that.

Friday’s 7-4 win showed that it’s possible.

The Orioles’ offense didn’t waste any time against starting pitcher Max Scherzer, pounding the future Hall of Famer for six runs across the first two frames. Orioles starter Chris Bassitt, a former Blue Jay pitching at Rogers Centre for the first time since joining Baltimore over the offseason, delivered a strong start, allowing two runs across five-plus innings. And Baltimore’s bullpen, which has walked the tightrope between solid and mediocre all season, was excellent until it wasn’t, pitching three scoreless frames before a shaky ninth.

The Orioles entered the ninth with a five-run lead, and reliever Alex Hoppe retired the first two batters he faced. But he gave up four straight hits, including a two-run homer to Brett Bateman, to put the tying run at the plate. Rico Garcia, manager Craig Albernaz’s go-to fireman, came in to put out the flames, getting Alejandro Kirk to ground out to second base for the one-out save.

The win improves the Orioles to 72-76 with 14 games left. After opening September with six straight losses, they’ve won three of four games this week to crawl back into the fringes of wild-card contention. Baltimore is temporarily 2 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final spot, with the Blue Jays and Texas Rangers between them.

To make the playoffs, the Orioles will likely have to win at least 11 of their remaining 14 contests, especially since they don’t have the tiebreaker advantage over the Guardians or Rangers. The Orioles and Blue Jays play five more games this year, and the club that wins more of them will win the season series and have the tiebreaker.

The Orioles’ offense has often started slow this season, and after a day off Thursday in Toronto, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if that happened Friday. But Dylan Beavers ensured that wouldn’t be the case, as the leadoff hitter clobbered Scherzer’s second pitch — a middle-in cutter — for a 375-foot homer to right field.

An inning later, the Orioles’ first six batters reached base to bring home five runs and give Baltimore a 6-0 lead. Gunnar Henderson, Samuel Basallo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand all singled to load the bases, and Heston Kjerstad stayed back on Scherzer’s first-pitch curveball for an RBI knock.

Henderson was back in the lineup Friday after missing Wednesday’s game because of knee soreness stemming from a foul ball off it Tuesday. Kjerstad, meanwhile, got the start in right field, just his second since rejoining the Orioles when rosters expanded Sept. 1, and drove in his first run since June 4, 2025 — less than one week before he was optioned amid that disappointing campaign.

Colton Cowser then smacked an opposite-field double to bring home a pair of runs, and Beavers pulled a low change-up for a two-run single. The Blue Jays kept Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner who entered Friday with a 6.03 ERA at 42 years old, in the game, and he made it through five innings without allowing another run. The only other run Baltimore scored came off the red-hot bat of Coby Mayo, whose frozen rope to left field off righty reliever Braydon Fisher put the Orioles up 7-2. Mayo now ranks second on the Orioles with 23 homers, eight of which have come over his past 21 games.

Bassitt allowed nine base runners — on six hits and three walks — but limited damage, allowing only a Kazuma Okamoto solo shot in the fourth. His second run scored after he exited the game with no outs in the sixth, as left-hander Josh Walker allowed only one of Bassitt’s runners on an RBI groundout from Andrés Giménez. Walker, Yennier Cano and Andrew Kittredge combined to pitch three scoreless frames before Hoppe took the ball in the ninth.

The Orioles will hope to maintain this momentum into Saturday’s 3:07 p.m. game with Kyle Bradish on the mound.

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