Blue Jays take rubber match vs. Orioles 6-4 thanks to five-run sixth inning

TORONTO – Yohendrick Pinango led off the sixth with a solo homer to ignite a five-run inning, and Louis Varland continued his dominance with a four-out save as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 on Sunday.

The Blue Jays (32-34) sent nine batters to the plate in the sixth inning, with the decisive blow being an infield hit from Nathan Lukes that was deflected between first and second base by Baltimore reliever Yennier Cano, scoring Andres Gimenez for the go-ahead run with two out.

Varland earned his 11th save and has not allowed a run in his last 18 appearances (20 2/3 innings). Rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela added an insurance run for the Jays with his seventh homer to lead off the eighth.

With wins in the final two games of the three-game series, Toronto pulled ahead of the Orioles (31-35) for third place in the American League East.

Canadian reliever Adam Macko (2-0) struck out two in the sixth inning for the victory before 41,278.

Toronto starter Kevin Gausman surrendered only one hit through four innings. But the Orioles torched him for four runs in the fifth, including a solo homer from Colton Cowser and a two-run blast from Taylor Ward.

Gausman finished the fifth but yielded four runs on five hits with no walks and five strikeouts.

After giving up three hits in five innings, Baltimore starter Shane Baz (3-6) departed with two outs in the sixth. Only one run — the Pinango homer — of the five in the sixth was earned because of a Gunnar Henderson error. Baz gave up seven hits, walked one and had three strikeouts.

Takeaways

Blue Jays: With runners on first and second and none out in the seventh inning, Valenzuela made a nifty play on Blaze Alexander’s bunt to get the lead runner at third base.

Orioles: The visitors smacked seven homers in the three-game series with Cowser going back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday.

Key moment

Running from first to second on a Valenzuela grounder up the middle, Ernie Clement ran to the left of a charging Henderson to avoid being tagged for an inning-ending double play in the sixth. The Orioles unsuccessfully argued that Clement veered off the base path. The Blue Jays scored on the play and added two more for a one-run lead three batters later.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

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Key stat

Slumping Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a difficult series, going 0 for 10 with a walk.

Up next

Toronto lefty Patrick Corbin (2-2) will face Philadelphia Phillies southpaw ace Cristopher Sanchez (7-2) in the series opener at home on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2026.