By Noah Trister - Associated Press - Wednesday, July 31, 2024

BALTIMORE — Jackson Holliday returned to the major leagues with a flourish, hitting a fifth-inning grand slam for his first career home run to help the Baltimore Orioles to a 10-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Holliday, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft and baseball’s top-ranked prospect at the moment per MLB Pipeline, had been sent down after going 2 for 34 with 18 strikeouts for the Orioles earlier this season. In his first game back, he grounded out twice before connecting for a 439-foot drive with the bases loaded that gave Baltimore an 8-3 lead.

“Just try to keep it simple,” Holliday said. “The last time I was up here, got myself trying to do a little bit too much.”

Colton Cowser also went deep for the Orioles, and Addison Barger homered for Toronto. It was a bittersweet day for Baltimore, which lost All-Star third baseman Jordan Westburg to a broken hand after he was hit by a pitch immediately before Holliday’s homer.

Grayson Rodriguez (13-4) allowed three earned runs and six hits in six innings for Baltimore. He struck out eight and walked three.

Paolo Espino (0-1) permitted four runs and five hits in four innings.

Ryan Mountcastle opened the scoring for Baltimore with a two-run triple in the first, and Cowser’s second-inning shot made it 3-0. After Barger’s solo homer, Gunnar Henderson answered in the bottom of the third with a leadoff triple and scored on Ryan O’Hearn’s sacrifice fly.

Barger added an RBI double in the fourth, and after George Springer doubled and scored on a groundout by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays were within one.

Then the Orioles scored five runs off reliever Yerry Rodríguez in the fifth. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with one out, and Holliday hit an 0-2 delivery onto Eutaw Street at Camden Yards.

“We saw him in spring. I think he hit a couple homers off us in spring too,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I know it hasn’t started exactly how he wanted, but he’s (the) No. 1 prospect for a reason.”

Anthony Santander hit an RBI single later in the inning.

Henderson made two errors at shortstop, bringing his total to seven in his last seven games, but he reached base three times and hit an RBI single in the seventh.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: Schneider said CF Daulton Varsho was taken out after feeling light-headed on a hot day.

Orioles: C James McCann, who stayed in the game Monday after being hit in the face by a pitch, started Wednesday and played the whole game. He used a protective covering while batting.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: Toronto is off Thursday before a road series against the New York Yankees. Kevin Gausman (9-8) starts for the Blue Jays on Friday night against Marcus Stroman (7-5).

Orioles: Baltimore begins a four-game series at Cleveland on Thursday night.

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