Blue Jays Look Unstoppable in 22-Run Rout of Orioles

Toronto continued its hot stretch with an absolute annihilation of the Orioles at Camden Yards.

© James A. Pittman-USA TODAY Sports

They keep outdoing themselves. 

Following two vicious comebacks during a wacky doubleheader that saw the Blue Jays scratch and claw for hard-fought victory, the club decided to frontload the offense in Sunday's 22-7 win. 

"I've been in the game for 35 years," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. "I've never seen anything like that, back-to-back, to score that many runs. 

"After you do what we did yesterday, you usually come into a day like today and probably score—if you score any—four or five. But to score 22? That's impressive."

The Jays' first four batters of the game reached base within 10 minutes of first pitch, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.—whose September OPS sat at a sky-high 1.239 before the game—cashed in with a deep fly ball to right-center field. 

The Lourdes Day 🍍 pic.twitter.com/09kXSEyGIK

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 12, 2021

The blast was Gurriel Jr.'s 18th home run of the season—he'd hit No. 19 a bit later—and fourth grand slam of the year, which sets a new single-season Blue Jays record. The 27-year-old wound up finishing with seven RBI and five runs scored, becoming the first player in franchise history to achieve such a feat. 

But, like Saturday's 11-run inning, the offensive barrage continued in devastating fashion. Toronto plated five runs before Orioles starter Zac Lowther could record an out, but that was only the gentle beginning to a relentless onslaught.

In the second inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 44th home run of the season—a majestic blast just inside the left field foul pole to tie Shohei Ohtani for the league lead—was a mere appetizer to a buffet of runs an inning later. 

#PLAKATA NUMBER 44 💥

He's tied for the @MLB lead 👀 pic.twitter.com/IN1MvPhlyV

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 12, 2021

The Blue Jays scored 10 runs in the third, initially by way of a Teoscar Hernández grand slam—the first time Toronto has ever hit two grand slams in a game—then a couple doubles, followed by Jake Lamb's first homer as a Blue Jay. After that, two more doubles gave Toronto a 13-run edge. Including Saturday's 11-run seventh inning, Toronto's 27 runs were the most by a major league team in a four-inning span since 1920.

From the first pitch to the very last one, Toronto dominated the game, which made starting pitcher Steven Matz's afternoon a stress-free endeavor. 

Matz wasn't on his A-game, but with 22 runs of support, it didn't matter—keeping the bullpen fresh was the most important takeaway. Well, that, and some new franchise records. 

"I think we all believe in each other. With the group we have, just looking around like, man, we have a really good team," Matz said. "And so, you know, when everybody is doing what they know they're capable of ... the results are going to be there. 

"It's been a cool run, we still have some more games to go. So I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, and just got to continue to play good baseball."

The Blue Jays scored runs 47 runs over the weekend, their most ever in a four-game series. If it wasn't obvious before, the Blue Jays—winners of 14 of the last 16 and owners of an 11-1 record in September—are the hottest team in baseball. 

With each massive victory, a trip to the postseason looks more and more likely. Thanks to a Red Sox loss, Toronto has now moved into a tie for the first AL wild card spot. 

"We know what we're capable of," Matz said. "But now, the rest of the league's starting to see that. I think it just puts pressure on other teams. And that's what we want. 

"We want guys to be backed into corners when we're coming for a series or they're coming to play in Toronto. We want to have the pressure on them because they know, within one inning, we can score 10 runs. And that's a pretty special thing."