Ninth-inning meltdown costs Blue Jays in a crushing loss to Orioles

Sunday’s series finale (12:15 p.m. first pitch) is another bullpen day for the Jays

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Published May 30, 2026  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Pete Alonso of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates with teammates after a walkoff single in the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 30, 2026 in Baltimore. Photo by Mitchell Layton /Getty Images

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Had his defence not bailed him out, Trey Day would have been known as Demolition Day.

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There’s no doubt Trey Yesavage has the pitching arsenal and mound demeanor to completely stifle opposing hitters, with his post-season run last autumn providing the ultimate body of work.

Lost in the Yesavage euphoria is that the righty had appeared in nine big-league games.

His 10th career start came Saturday in Baltimore.

Almost from the time he walked to the mound, Yesavage’s command was off, as in woefully off.

What kept him around was his team’s defence recording double plays.

One can tip a hat to Yesavage for inducing those timely grounders, but there was no denying the inordinate amount of walks he issued.

In total, seven were yielded, by far the most Yesavage has surrendered.

At one point, he was talking to himself in an obvious sign of frustration.

When his afternoon had ended, a visibly shaken Yesavage sat forlornly in the dugout.

His best inning, which turned out to be his last, came in the fifth when Yesavage retired Baltimore’s 1-2-3 hitters in order.

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A year ago, Yesavage made three regular-season starts and walked seven in 14.0 innings.

He entered Saturday having issued 10 in 32.0 innings this season.

In his most recent start, Yesavage’s defence, namely rookie Yohendrick Pinango in left field, let him down.

The baseball gods work in mysterious ways, but if Saturday was somehow a nod to Yesavage given the double play ball it did come with plenty of stress and discomfort.

Erratic is one way to describe Yesavage’s outing against the O’s.

Fortunate is another.

The word crushing would emerge as the operative descriptive on this day as the Jays blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning as Baltimore won 6-5 on a walk-off single.

Simply put, the Jays collapsed with poster boy Jeff Hoffman imploding.

The Jays were fortunate to emerge with a 6-5 win Friday, only to have the tables turned Saturday in the most cruel way.

In total, the Jays gave up 11 walks, but none were as problematic as the three free passes, all in succession, in the fateful and brutal ninth.

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The following are three takeaways on a day Vladimir Guerrero Jr. banged out four hits to give him 16 in his past 12 games, a stretch that began when Vlad Jr. hit his third homer of the season in a win over the Tigers.

PEN MIGHTY, AND LEAKY

Toronto’s high-leverage arms weren’t available Friday, which led to Braydon Fisher recording his first career save.

Saturday, it was a different story that began with Tyler Rogers entering the game to start the seventh inning in a one-run game.

He retired the side in order.

With Baltimore’s meat of the order coming up, the Jays had closer Louis Varland start the eighth.

He retired the side in order.

Jeff Hoffman started the ninth with the Blue Jays ahead 5-1 — a non-save situation.

Hoffman struck out the first batter he faced. Then it was hit batsman, RBI triple, RBI single, double, walk, and RBI walk.

Suddenly, the score was 5-4 and Hoffman was out of the game.

Right-hander Connor Seabold was thrust into the spotlight and his inexperience as a closer was clear. Another bases-loaded walk, and a walkoff single by Pete Alonso later, the Orioles won.

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KAZ CAN

Kazuma Okamoto prefers to let his bat do his talking, which is his prerogative in his first season in the big leagues following years as a slugger in Japan.

His bat has been talking loud and clear, as evidenced by his club-leading 12 homers, including his mammoth blast that helped key a late-game rally Friday.

He nearly went deep in his first at-bat Saturday on a ball that fell about a foot shy of the left-field wall at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

At third base, Okamoto has shown to be good.

He started two of the Jays’ four double plays on the day, including one when Okamoto fielded a grounder while almost simultaneously touching the bag at third for the force out before throwing to first to complete the double play.

The man known as Kaz came up big at the plate in the eighth inning, when his double scored two runs as the Jays extended their lead.

RUN OF THE MILL

His routes to the ball are second to none, his willingness to sacrifice his body are beyond reproach, but as good as he is centre field, there’s no question the biggest question surrounding Daulton Varsho is his arm.

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His defensive prowess is so elite that it often masks an obvious deficiency.

In the home half of the third inning Saturday, Gunnar Henderson sent a ball up the middle with Jeremiah Jackson at second.

Once Varsho fielded the single, he threw to Andres Gimenez, who made a great athletic throw to home plate as Jackson just beat the tag for the game’s first run.

UP NEXT

Sunday’s series finale (12:15 p.m. first pitch) represents yet another bullpen day for the Jays, who have surprisingly held their own under these less-than-ideal circumstances; Spencer Miles is expected to get some run, while call-up Hayden Juenger figures to have a role.

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