TORONTO -- If the Orioles are going to finish strong in the final third of the 2023 season, it would help to have both Grayson Rodriguez and Shintaro Fujinami -- a pair of rookie right-handers both added to the roster in July -- at their best.
Rodriguez was close to that on Wednesday night. Fujinami, however, was not.
Baltimore lost, 4-1, to Toronto at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays rallied for three runs in the sixth without recording a hit. Rodriguez’s night ended with back-to-back two-out walks, then Fujinami entered and allowed both inherited runners (and another) to score via two straight hit-by-pitches and a rare error by shortstop Jorge Mateo.
It wasn’t a great showing for the American League-best Orioles, whose lone run scored on Adley Rutschman’s fifth-inning RBI infield single. However, they are 66-42 at the two-thirds mark of the season, which has them on pace to win 99 games this year.
“We’ve been playing such good baseball,” manager Brandon Hyde. “Tonight just wasn’t our best.”
The O’s lost for only the second time in nine meetings against the Blue Jays. It was also only Baltimore’s ninth loss in its past 27 games overall.
But Rodriguez pitched well enough to keep the Orioles in the game for the entirety of his outing. The 23-year-old right-hander retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced and gave up only two hits, both in the third -- a one-out double to Brandon Belt and a two-out RBI single to George Springer.
After Springer’s knock, Rodriguez settled back in and sat down the next six Toronto batters. He again relied on a heavy dose of four-seam fastballs (55 of his 96 pitches) as he racked up six strikeouts.
Rodriguez, who had a 7.35 ERA over his first 10 big league starts before getting demoted to Triple-A Norfolk on May 27, has been much more effective since rejoining Baltimore’s rotation on July 17. Over his first four starts back, he has posted a 3.57 ERA in outings against four formidable opponents -- the Dodgers, Rays, Yankees and Blue Jays.
“Confidence is building each start,” said Rodriguez, who allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings in Toronto. “Whether it’s in the bullpen in between starts, being able to compete with myself in that situation and then come out, obviously against a good lineup, pretty loud stadium, seeing how you stack up against the AL East, and right now, it’s getting a little bit better.”
In his previous outing vs. New York, Rodriguez completed six innings for the first time in his MLB career, tossing 6 1/3 scoreless frames in a 1-0 Orioles win. He nearly got through six again Wednesday, before walking Belt on six pitches and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on 10. At that point -- with Rodriguez at 96 pitches -- Hyde turned the ball over to the bullpen.
Fujinami, who was acquired in a July 19 trade with the A’s, had a tough start to his O’s career, allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings over his first two outings. But the 29-year-old had seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 scoreless frames over his three previous appearances heading into Wednesday.
Upon entering, Fujinami walked Springer on four pitches to load the bases. On the next offering, Fujinami plunked Matt Chapman, giving the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead.
“Grayson was doing a great job today, and I didn’t want to give up a run and I was putting too much pressure on myself,” Fujinami said through interpreter Issei Kamada. “I was trying to do too much and I wanted to get an out so bad. I was kind of rushing.”
After hitting Danny Jansen with a pitch to push across another Toronto run, Fujinami should have gotten out of the jam, but Daulton Varsho’s grounder hit to Mateo was booted for an error. Fujinami finally escaped by getting Paul DeJong to line out to third base.
Prior to Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline, the Orioles bolstered their pitching staff with the addition of right-handed starter Jack Flaherty. However, they didn’t add another reliever, partially because they’re confident in the ability of Fujinami -- who throws a fastball touching 101 mph that pairs with a nasty splitter -- to serve as a high-leverage option.
So far, it hasn’t become clear whether Fujinami can fill that role consistently.
“We really need him,” Hyde said. “His last few times out, he was really, really good, and hopefully he can get back to that.”
Just like Baltimore needs Rodriguez, the former top prospect who continues to prove he can be a valuable member of the rotation down the stretch.
“We’re making big strides and happy with where he’s at,” Hyde said. “Much improved over earlier in the year.”