Orioles, Blue Jays split season-ending doubleheader
BALTIMORE (AP) - Otto Lopez hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 to secure a split of Wednesday's doubleheader.
Terrin Vavra hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to lift Baltimore to a 5-4 victory in the opener.
Lopez had three hits in the opener and two more in the second game. The Blue Jays, who entered the day having already clinched the top wild card in the American League, finished the regular season 92-70 after going 91-71 in 2021.
Baltimore went 83-79, a remarkable 31-game improvement from a year ago. Fans gave the team a standing ovation after the second game, and players came out of the dugout to acknowledge it.
Both teams substituted liberally, combining to use 49 players in the two games. Toronto's George Springer was the only active position player who had the whole day off.
With the second game tied at 1 in the seventh, Toronto put men on first and third with one out thanks to a throwing error by reliever Cionel Pérez. After Bradley Zimmer stole second, Lopez's single brought home both runners.
Zimmer added a two-run single in the eighth.
Yusei Kikuchi (6-7) retired all five of his hitters to earn the win in relief for Toronto. Yennier Cano (1-1) took the loss.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases in the first and took a 1-0 lead on Danny Jansen's grounder. The Orioles tied it in the sixth on an RBI double by Kyle Stowers.
Baltimore rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the opener, thanks to Vavra's first career homer. Gabriel Moreno hit his first career home run for the Blue Jays, a three-run shot in the sixth, but Mitch White (0-5) allowed five runs and seven hits in four relief innings.
"It would be nice to maybe get off the deck in the first to the fifth and then cruise in. That's what I'm hoping for once in a while," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde joked. "We like to make it tough, and then pitch out of jams, and then pop one late to get a win."
DL Hall (1-1) earned his first career victory in relief, and Bryan Baker worked a perfect ninth for his first career save.
Lopez opened the scoring for Toronto with an RBI single in the second. After Moreno's drive to right-center made it 4-0, Austin Hays hit a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth for the Orioles.
ATTENDANCE
Baltimore drew 1,365,900 at Camden Yards this season, its highest attendance total since 2018. The team drew 1,307,807 in 2019, its last home season before the coronavirus pandemic.
TRAINER'S ROOM
The Orioles could have started Jordan Lyles on normal rest Wednesday but decided to let him end his season after a career-high 32 starts.
UP NEXT
Toronto begins the postseason Friday at home against Seattle.
Baltimore's first spring training game is Feb. 25 against the Minnesota Twins.
