Orioles rally past Blue Jays with Adley Rutschman walk-off to keep 105-series sweepless streak alive
Rutschman hit a walk-off home run to lift the Orioles past the Blue Jays on Wednesday
For the first time in exactly two years, it looked like the Baltimore Orioles were going to get swept.
Then Adley Rutschman saved the day.
Rutschman hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday to power the Orioles to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards.
Feel the Rutsch. pic.twitter.com/WpTMX1rhR6
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) May 15, 2024
The win means the Orioles split what ended up being a two-game series with the Blue Jays after Tuesday’s game was rained out. Baltimore has now gone 105 straight regular-season series of at least two games without being swept. That’s an American League record and the third-longest run in major-league history.
The Orioles are one more series away from matching the New York Giants, who went 106 straight series without being swept from 1903 to 1905. The St. Louis Cardinals hold the all-time record with 125 straight series, which they pulled off from 1942 to '44 while winning two World Series titles. The New York Yankees are fourth on that list, though they made it just 83 series in the 1920s.
If all goes well, the Orioles could surpass the all-time mark in their series against the Blue Jays that starts on July 29. Their most recent sweep in the regular season came May 13-15, 2022, when they lost three straight to the Detroit Tigers. The Orioles were swept in the ALDS against the Texas Rangers last season, but playoffs don't count for the streak.
The Blue Jays carried a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning Wednesday after Bo Bichette hit a two-run double in the third. That came after Jordan Westburg hit a solo home run in the opening inning. The Orioles are the first team since 1983 to have leadoff home run and a walk-off home run account for all of their runs in a game.
The Orioles now hold a 27-14 record, which is good for first in the AL East. The Blue Jays are last in the division at 19-23, 8.5 games back from the Orioles.