BALTIMORE -- Charles McAdoo's first career hit may go down as one of the bigger swings of the Blue Jays’ season.
McAdoo connected for a two-run homer to complete a four-run seventh inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. belted a go-ahead two-run double one frame later and the Blue Jays returned to the .500 mark after rallying from five runs down in a 6-5 victory over the Orioles on Friday night at Camden Yards.
“It was awesome. Awesome,” a visibly excited McAdoo said afterward. “I can't even put it into words.”
Kazuma Okamoto also clubbed a two-run drive -- his 12th -- two batters before McAdoo’s opposite-field shot chased Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers.
Guerrero’s drive toward the left-field corner off Yennier Cano completed the comeback for the Blue Jays, who won their fourth straight and 10th out of 14 to return to the even-water mark (29-29) for the first time since they were 4-4 on April 4.
They’ve put together that stretch despite managing an injured list that currently sits at 17 players, including the majority of the projected starting rotation when Spring Training began.
“Just coming back there in the seventh-inning, kind of got a little contagious,” manager John Schneider said. “That was a big win. That was a total team effort.”
In the first of two potential bullpen games in three days, Mason Fluharty (3-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to get to the ninth, and Braydon Fisher worked the final inning for his first career save.
A day after his selection from Triple-A Buffalo, McAdoo connected in his third at-bat against Rogers, driving a 1-1 fastball a Statcast-projected 369 feet over the short wall in right-center, just to the left of the out-of-town scoreboard at Camden Yards.
“My heart dropped as soon as I hit it because I was like, ‘It has a chance. It has a chance,’” said McAdoo, the Blue Jays' No. 26 prospect.
He finished his MLB debut 1-for-4 before leaving when Ernie Clement moved to second base in an eighth-inning defensive switch.
But McAdoo looked plenty comfortable playing second for only the 13th time as a pro -- and fourth since 2023 -- and turning a crisp 4-3 double play in the first inning.
“Even the double play he turned, I thought, the first play at second base in the big leagues, he's probably got to flip it to Ernie,” Schneider said. “But he took it himself. And definitely his heartbeat slowed down as the game went on.”
Afterward, McAdoo credited the advice of outfielder Nathan Lukes with helping him handle the occasion.
“He said, ‘It’s going to be a lot. But it’s still fun,'” McAdoo said.
Guerrero put together his third two-hit game of the week at just the right time.
His seventh-inning single was the first of four consecutive hits in the four-run rally. In the eighth, he pulled Cano’s first-pitch fastball on the lower inside corner into a wide-open patch of grass as the Orioles played him to go to the opposite field.
The latter marked Guerrero’s second extra-base hit since April 28, as he continues to search for the power that has made him a five-time All-Star. Now slashing .293/.391/.379, he said that drive still wasn’t quite the swing he’s been searching for.
“Not yet. Not yet,” he said through an interpreter. “Whenever I feel that swing, I will let you know.”