Blue Jays embarrassed 13-3 by visiting Baltimore Orioles

Catcher Tyler Heineman was called on to pitch in the ninth inning.

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Published Jun 05, 2026  •  Last updated 5 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates after scoring against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning of an MLB game at the Rogers Centre on June 5, 2026. Photo by Mark Blinch /Getty Images

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The night began with the Rogers Centre roof open, until it began to close just before the visiting Baltimore Orioles were about to begin the top half of the fourth inning.

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To say the roof caved in on Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage would be overly harsh, but he wasn’t good at the same time either.

In terms of importance, this weekend series ranks near the top knowing the baseball calendar is in its first week in June.

A quick glance at the AL East standings would also hammer home the point of the magnitude of the three games.

Under this backdrop, it was incumbent on Yesavage to help set the tone.

His offence did provide a two-run cushion, as the Blue Jays led 3-1 after five innings.

Then came the sixth inning, when the Orioles took control of the evening by pushing across five runs.

Last Saturday in Baltimore, Yesavage walked seven as the Orioles would erase a four-run deficit in the ninth inning to produce a 6-5 walkoff win.

Friday, Yesavage gave up five hits, including two home runs, in 5.2 innings.

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For the second outing in a row, he wasn’t good.

Joining Yesavage was Toronto’s offence, which seemed to have found its footing one night earlier against the host Braves.

What began as a competitive night would turn into a rout, as the Orioles were well deserving of their 13-3 beatdown.

It got so out of hand the Jays were forced to use a position player, catcher Tyler Heineman, on the mound with two outs in the ninth inning.

Mercifully, Heineman needed to throw only one pitch to record the final out.

The following are three takeaways on a night Daulton Varsho, who started in centre field and hit cleanup, was removed from the game in the fourth inning; it was later announced Varsho was dealing with left wrist discomfort.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

The teams split their four-game set at Oriole Park at Camden Yards last weekend, and both teams entered this weekend’s series at Rogers Centre with a 30-33 record.

During an 11-day stretch, the two teams will play each other seven times.

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The season series wraps up in September, beginning with a return visit by the Orioles before the Jays play their penultimate series of the season when they travel to Baltimore.

With Aaron Judge expected to miss at least two months because of a stress fracture in his ribs, the New York Yankees aren’t as intimidating.

Last week in Baltimore, the Jays took the opening two games by a combined margin of two runs before dropping the final two as they headed off to Atlanta.

While the O’s and Jays are fairly even by any measurement, what stands out in the past two meetings is Baltimore’s offence, which has produced a combined 22 runs.

Following Friday’s victory, the O’s have beaten the Jays three times in succession, albeit a small sample, but any edge is welcome and may prove pivotal down the road.

CATCH-22

With catching incumbent Alejandro Kirk inching closer to rejoining the Jays, a decision must be made, a decision that appears to be a difficult one until one look under the hood.

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In short, one backup job between two candidates, but one catcher vying for a spot happens to be Brandon Valenzuela, whom the Jays have options.

Barring some creative way to address this issue, Valenzuela seems destined to be optioned in favour of Heineman.

Valenzuela is a keeper and has shown an ability to go yard, which he did once again Friday in giving the Jays a 3-1 lead on a two-run blast. It was his six dinger of the season, which ties him for second on the club.

When Kirk, a two-time all-star, suffered a fractured thumb in his glove hand early in the season, the Jays knew his absence would be hard to fill.

Kirk’s misfortune did provide an opportunity for Valenzuela, who, to his credit, has fully taken advantage.

LOVE FOR BASSITT

During his three-year run in Toronto, Chris Bassitt left everything he had, and then some, on the diamond.

Off of it, he left a lasting impression by supporting the Toronto community at large.

Fittingly, the veteran was feted in Friday’s series opener.

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When he was shown on the overhead scoreboard in centre, Bassitt blew a kiss to the fans from Baltimore’s dugout.

He won’t pitch this weekend against his former team, though Bassitt did get a chance to face his former team last weekend in Baltimore.

Given the state of Toronto’s starting rotation, the Jays could use Bassitt.

Good news did emerge, beginning with Dylan Cease being back with the big-league club.

The righty is trending toward a return to the rotation as early as next week, because he does not need another rehab outing.

Max Scherzer had another rehab start with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Friday, when he threw 73 pitches across 3.2 innings.

His fastball averaged 93.4 m.p.h. and touched 95.7 m.p.h.

Recent acquisition Simeon Woods Richardson has reported to the team and was active for the series opener.

Chad Dallas, who earned the win in his MLB debut Thursday in Atlanta, was optioned to triple-A Buffalo in the corresponding move.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays hadn’t announced their scheduled starter for their game Saturday (3:07 p.m. first pitch), while the Orioles will send righty Kyle Bradish to the mound; when the teams hooked up in Baltimore last week, Bradish started in the series finale, giving up one run on four hits in 7.0 innings as the Orioles took a commanding 9-0 lead before the Jays scored late in a 9-5 Toronto loss.

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