Instant Reaction: Blue Jays pitching struggled in 11-8 defeat to the Orioles

Another day, another game where the late comeback falls short.

On Thursday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays faced off against the Baltimore Orioles, falling 11-8 to bring their Spring Training record to 3-2. Unfortunately, there’s no TV broadcast of this game.

The Orioles had a massive bottom of the second, with the first run scoring thanks to Ramón Laureano’s double. Ramón Urías followed that up with a home run to make it a 3-0 run game. Still in the bottom of the second, the inning was capped off by a home run from Tyler O’Neill to make it 7-0.

However, the Blue Jays showed some fight in the top of the fourth. Orelvis Martínez hit a single (and advanced to second) with the bases loaded to cut the Orioles lead in half. That was followed by a single from Myles Straw to make it a 7-4 game.

The Orioles scored twice more in the sixth, followed by a home run from top prospect Samuel Basallo in the bottom of the seventh to give the Orioles a 10-4 lead. In the eighth inning, the teams traded a run, with Rainer Nuñez scoring for the Blue Jays on an error while Luis Vasquez hit a single to score Livan Soto, making the game 11-5 heading into the top of the ninth.

For only the second time in five Spring Training games, a Blue Jays hitter went deep. In the top of the ninth with two on, Charles McAoo hit a three-run blast to make the game 11-8, the final score of the game.

Takeaways…

It was a rough day for Blue Jays pitchers. Easton Lucas made the start, giving up three earned runs in an inning and two-thirds. That was followed by Andrew Bash, who gave up four earned runs in a third of an inning. Eric Pardinho gave up two earned runs and struck out two, while Nick Fraze allowed two runs, one earned, in his two innings of work with three strikeouts.

The two exceptions were Braydon Fisher and Johnathan Lavallee. Fisher in particular had a great game, pitching two scoreless innings and striking out four. Lavallee didn’t strike out a batter but didn’t give up a run either.

Their hitters were not nearly good enough in this game either. In total, the Blue Jays walked six times and were hit by a pitch twice, but only had four hits. Josh Kaseivch, Orelvis Martínez, Myles Straw, and Charles McAdoo were the only players to reach with a knock.

On Friday, the Blue Jays will get a chance to redeem themselves. They’ll play the Detroit Tigers in Dunedin at 1:07 PM ET with Chris Bassitt on the mound. But wait, there’s more! They’ll also take on the New York Yankees at 6:35 PM ET with Jake Bloss taking on Gerrit Cole.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.