O’Neill extends opening day streak as O’s swat first-game record six homers, rout Blue Jays 12-2
Baltimore Orioles/s Cedric Mullins, center, is greeted in the dugout by teammates after hitting a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning an opening-day baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Toronto, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Christopher Katsarov]
TORONTO (AP) — Tyler O’Neill hit a three-run home run, extending his major league record by homering for a sixth straight opening day, and the Baltimore Orioles hit a franchise record six opening day home runs to rout the Blue Jays 12-2 on Thursday.
Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins both homered twice and Jordan Westburg also connected in Baltimore’s biggest ever opening day power display. The Orioles hit four opening day homers in 1982 and 2006.
O’Neill went 3 for 3, walked twice and scored three times.
Zach Eflin (1-0) allowed two hits in six innings as the Orioles opened a big league season outside the United States for the first time.
Eflin retired the first 10 batters before walking Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the fourth inning. Two batters later, Andrés Giménez hit a two-run home run, Toronto’s first hit.
Toronto Blue Jays second base Andrés Giménez (0) hits a home run during fourth inning MLB baseball action against the Baltimore Orioles, in Toronto on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Making his fifth opening day start and third with the Blue Jays, José Berríos (0-1) allowed six runs and nine hits in five innings.
Toronto’s Anthony Santander went 0 or 4 against his former team. Santander signed a five-year deal with the club in January.
The Blue Jays had their franchise-record streak of season-opening wins snapped at five.
Key moment
Playing a season-opening game in his home country of Canada for the first time, O’Neill made it 4-0 with a two-out drive in the third. His streak of opening day homers began with St. Louis in 2020.
Key stat
Eflin, who started Game 1 of the 2024 season for Tampa Bay, became just the second pitcher since 1939 to make back-to-back opening day starts for different teams. The other was Madison Bumgarner, who started on opening day for San Francisco in 2019 and Arizona in 2020.
Up next
Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman faces his former team for the eighth time on Friday night. He’s 2-4 with a 4.75 ERA against Baltimore. RHP Charlie Morton starts for the Orioles.
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