TORONTO — Brett Bateman and Alejandro Kirk homered to power the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday at Rogers Centre. Bateman led off the third inning with a solo shot to make it 3-0 and Kirk followed later in the frame with a two-run blast. The victory moved Toronto 1 1/2 games behind Cleveland in the race for the final wild-card spot in the American League. The Guardians were scheduled to play later Saturday at Minnesota. Pete Alonso hit a no-doubt two-run homer off the left-field foul netting in the seventh inning for the Orioles. Toronto has won 10 of its last 16 games. The rubber match of the three-game series was set for Sunday. Blue Jays opener Spencer Miles barely survived a 31-pitch first inning, getting Christian Encarnacion-Strand on a deep flyout with the bases loaded. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI double in the bottom half of the frame against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish (7-14) and scored on a Kirk single. The Orioles got on the board in the fourth after a double-error by Toronto third baseman Kazuma Okamoto. He bobbled a grounder by Encarnacion-Strand and then threw high to first base, allowing Gunnar Henderson to come across. Joe Mantiply, Spencer Arrighetti (8-9), Mason Fluharty, Paul Sewald, Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland also pitched for Toronto in the bullpen game. Takeaways Blue Jays: Toronto used a balanced offensive attack with every starter reaching base at least once. The Blue Jays outhit the Orioles 11-6. Orioles: Baltimore missed a big opportunity in the first inning and never recovered. Key moment The sellout crowd of 41,949 roared when Lukes threw out Encarnacion-Strand at home plate to end the Baltimore half of the fourth inning. Key stat Lukes extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the seventh inning. Coming up Toronto ace Dylan Cease (10-5, 2.40) was scheduled to start on Sunday against Trevor Rogers (10-9, 4.15). This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2026. Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
