5 Orioles to thank after a series sweep in Toronto

More and more, this Baltimore Orioles team shows that they are ready for the big moments, a killer instinct that was severely lacking until 2022. Following a series split against the Los Angeles Angels, the Orioles went up to Canada and swept a divisional rival in the Toronto Blue Jays.

Baltimore Orioles secure weekend series sweep of Toronto Blue Jays

This series marked the first three game sweep of an AL East opponent for the Orioles since they swept the Boston Red Sox to open the 2021 season. It's the first time they've swept the Blue Jays since 2018, and the first time they've swept at Rogers Centre since 2005.

Additionally, with the Tampa Bay Rays loss, the Orioles are just 2 1/2 games back of the AL East lead with a 31-16 record. It took until June 22 of last year for the Orioles to get win number 31, an improvement of a month and a day.

Following the sweep, here are five members of the Orioles in particular to thank for the team securing the sweep.

Ryan Mountcastle, 1B/DH

The first game of the series saw Mountcastle play a big role in the 6-2 win for the Orioles. Mountcastle's three-run home run in the third inning ended up being all the offense the Orioles needed, but of course they got more thanks to home runs from Adam Frazier and Anthony Santander. A hot Ryan Mountcastle is always a welcome sight in the Orioles lineup.

Kyle Gibson, SP

The reason that the Orioles only needed three runs to win the first game is because of the strong pitching of Kyle Gibson. He allowed just one run over seven innings, punching out five hitters before giving way to Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista to close out the win. He was outstanding to open the series.

Ryan O'Hearn, 1B/DH

Things were looking pretty bleak for the Orioles in game two, as the Blue Jays scored twice in the fifth inning, once in the sixth, and twice in the seventh to take a 5-2 lead. Enter Ryan O'Hearn. He came up in the eighth and blasted a game tying three run home run to tie the game 5-5 and put the Orioles right back in it, where they eventually won the game in the 10th inning. The Orioles quite literally don't win this game without O'Hearn.

Félix Bautista, RP

What an all time performance from Bautista in the middle game. Mountain time went a little bit extra on Saturday, with Bautista getting the win thanks to a gutsy two innings, shutting down the Blue Jays in the ninth and 10th innings, striking out five hitters. Not much more needs to be said here.

Terrin Vavra, UTIL

The series finale presented an 11 inning game on a day in which the Orioles were short in the bullpen and Dean Kremer went 5 1/3 innings. Going into the 10th tied 2-2, both teams scored runs to force an 11th inning with a 3-3 score.

That set the stage for the Orioles to open the floodgates. Austin Hays hit an RBI single to put the Orioles ahead 4-3, but the nod goes to Vavra thanks to a big two run single that gave the Orioles pivotal insurance runs. Vavra and Gunnar Henderson then scored on a two run double from Cedric Mullins, with Mike Baumann sealing the win in the bottom of the 11th.

Up next

After a day off on Monday, the Orioles face the New York Yankees for three games in another AL East matchup that figures to be an entertaining one.