Dylan Beavers socked a solo home run and had three RBIs Friday night as the visiting Baltimore Orioles defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 to pick up a crucial game in the playoff chase.
Coby Mayo added a solo blast and Christian Encarnacion-Strand rapped out three hits for the Orioles in the opener of a three-game series.
The Orioles (72-76) moved to within one game of the Blue Jays (73-75) in the tightening race for the third and final American League wild-card spot, though both still trail Cleveland, current occupier of the slot.
Toronto’s Brett Bateman hit his first major league homer, a two-run shot in the ninth against Alex Hoppe. After two singles followed, Rico Garcia got the final out to earn his eighth save.
Kazuma Okamoto added a solo homer and double for the Blue Jays.
The Orioles and Blue Jays are 4-4 in their season series with five games remaining between the teams. The winner of the season series would hold the tiebreaker for a playoff spot should it be needed.
Beavers led off the game when he drove a homer to right against Max Scherzer (2-8) on an 0-1 cutter.
Orioles starter Chris Bassitt (7-5), a former Blue Jay, survived a single and two walks in the home first. The rally was blunted when catcher Samuel Basallo picked off Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first for the second out.
The Orioles exploded for runs in the second. Gunnar Henderson, Basallo and Encarnacion-Strand loaded the bases with no outs thanks to successive singles. Heston Kjerstad stroked an RBI single to right, Colton Cowser hit a two-run double to left and Beavers hit a two-run single to right before an out was recorded.
Bassitt pitched around a bases-loaded jam after a single, an error and a walk in the third.
Okamoto led off the Toronto fourth with a homer to right on a 1-0 sinker.
Scherzer completed five innings, allowing six runs, seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
Bassitt was replaced by Josh Walker after Toronto opened the sixth on a bloop single to left by Nathan Lukes and a ringing double to left by Okamoto. Andres Gimenez’s one-out groundout to second scored the only run of the inning.
Bassitt allowed two runs, six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in five-plus innings.
Mayo clubbed Braydon Fisher’s 1-2 slider for a homer to left with two out in the seventh.
Bateman homered to right after Ernie Clement blooped a two-out double to right in the ninth.
