Daulton Varsho showed his skill both on defense and offense, making a crucial catch and hitting a homer to help the Toronto Blue Jays secure a 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.
Varsho’s contributions came after Adley Rutschman’s two home runs for the Orioles. Varsho’s solo homer in the eighth tied the game, and his groundball in the 10th brought in the go-ahead run—Ernie Clement’s bunt single in the 10th set up the opportunity for Varsho’s decisive hit.
Despite the Orioles’ efforts, turning three double plays to escape previous jams, they couldn’t stop Varsho’s hit in the 10th. Jordan Romano pitched the ninth and 10th innings for the Blue Jays to secure the win.
Bo Bichette also played a significant role for the Blue Jays with three hits and a walk. Rutschman’s multihomer game wasn’t enough for the Orioles, who struggled to generate offense beyond his hits. Varsho’s key catch in center field denied Ryan O’Hearn’s attempt at a home run in the fourth inning.
“I didn’t expect it to go that far,” Varsho explained. “But as I kept moving back, I realized it might clear the fence. So, I made the leap, hoping it would land in my glove.”
Toronto’s pitcher, José Berríos, gave up all three hits from Baltimore. He struck out four and walked one in seven innings. In playing for the Orioles, Corbin Burnes allowed one run and six hits in six innings.
Toronto had some key players missing due to illness, including George Springer and Kevin Kiermaier in the outfield, and Justin Turner at third base.
Although Burnes faced some challenges, including a single and a walk in the second inning, he managed to escape with a flyout and a double play. In the fourth, the Blue Jays had runners on first and third, but Daniel Vogelbach grounded out, and Alejandro Kirk struck out.
