TORONTO — Cedric Mullins had two home runs and singled in another run for a total of five RBIs as the Baltimore Orioles routed the Toronto Blue Jays 12-2 on Thursday in Major League Baseball's opening day.
Tyler O'Neill of Burnaby, B.C., hit a three-run homer in the third inning as Baltimore (1-0) built a quick six-run lead. Adley Rutschman had a solo homer in the first and a two-run shot in the eighth that was immediately followed by a Jordan Westburg home run.
Zach Eflin (1-0) gave up two runs on two hits and a walk, striking out two over six innings of work. Relievers Seranthony Dominguez, Keegan Akin and Bryan Baker combined for three scoreless innings.
Andres Gimenez's two-run homer in the fourth inning was the first hit Eflin gave up to Toronto (0-1). Gimenez drove in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the blast.
Jose Berrios (0-1) laboured through five innings of work, giving up six runs on nine hits and two walks but striking out five.
Richard Lovelady, Jacob Barnes, Chad Green, Yariel Rodriguez and Nick Sandlin came out of the Blue Jays' bullpen, giving up six runs over four innings.
Takeaways
Blue Jays: The light-hitting Gimenez was a surprising choice to bat clean up in Toronto's home opener but he rewarded manager John Schneider's faith in him with just the 50th homer of his six-year MLB career. Schneider made the aggressive decision to have Bo Bichette, Guerrero and Anthony Santander bat at the top of the order but they went a combined 0-for-10.
Orioles: Eflin was effective for Baltimore, carrying a perfect game through 3 1/3 innings before Guerrero drew his walk and his no-hitter ended two batters later with Gimenez's home run. Still, Eflin kept Toronto's bats quiet as Baltimore's hitters worked over Berrios and the Blue Jays' relievers for 14 hits.
Key moment
Rookie right-fielder Alan Roden had the first hit of his MLB career when he found a gap between first and second for a single in the sixth inning. He was selected to Toronto's big league roster and named a starter earlier Thursday after an impressive spring training where he hit .407.
Key stat
O'Neill has hit a home run in a record six consecutive MLB opening days. His first four came as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals and his fifth was last season for the Boston Red Sox. He signed a three-year, US$49.5 million deal with the Orioles in December.
Up next
Kevin Gausman (0-0) gets the start for Toronto in the second game of the four-game set at Rogers Centre. Charlie Morton (0-0) will take the mound for the Orioles.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
