By Ian Harrison, The Associated Press
TORONTO — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 10th home run in 20 games and scored four runs, Kevin Gausman pitched eight innings for his fourth straight victory and the Toronto Blue Jays survived a late comeback to beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-6 on Thursday night.
With his Hall of Fame father watching from a private suite, Guerrero missed the cycle by a single point, opening the scoring with an RBI double against Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer in the first inning to extend his season-high hitting streak to 20 games.
Guerrero ended the second with a flyout and then hit a two-run homer to right field against Kremer in the fifth inning, his 23rd. Guerrero capped his night with an RBI triple against right-hander Bryan Baker in the sixth inning, his first triple of the season.
Guerrero has a .507 batting average (37-for-73) with 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 22 RBIs over the course of his streak. It is the longest active streak in the major leagues and Guerrero’s longest since his career-high 22 games in 2022.
Colton Cowser hit a two-run home run and scored four runs for the Orioles. Baltimore leads the majors with 179 home runs, but the Orioles lost two of three games in Toronto. They are 11-15 since July 9.
Gausman (10-8) went 1-4 with a 5.35 ERA in six career starts against Baltimore, his first major league team. He retired the first eight batters in order before walking infielder Ramón Urías. Cowser followed with a home run on the first pitch, his 17th.
Anthony Santander followed with a double and Gunnar Henderson was able to get out with a walk, but Gausman got Ryan O’Hearn to ground out.
Gausman allowed two runs and three hits and struck out 16 of the last 18 batters he faced. He allowed three walks and had two strikeouts.
Baltimore started the ninth up 7-3, but was able to load the bases with three straight hits from Zach Pop. Chad Green came in for Pop and made his tenth save in ten chances.
Jackson Holliday scored a run on a fielder’s choice and Cedric Mullins hit an RBI double, but Green struck out pinch hitter Eloy Jiménez.
Cowser singled to make it 7-6, but Green ended the game by taking Santander out of the game with a fly ball.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Toronto. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)AP
Kremer (4-9) allowed five runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings. He did not score a run in the first inning and had a career-low five walks. Kremer lost for the fifth time in six starts and is winless since July 3 in Seattle.
Squad changes
The Blue Jays placed LHP Génesis Cabrera on the paternity list and opted to sign RHP Tommy Nance. Toronto acquired Nance in a minor league trade with San Diego on Wednesday, sending a cash sum in return.
Next
Oriole: RHP Zach Eflin (7-7, 4.05 ERA) is scheduled to start against his former team when Baltimore visits Tampa Bay on Friday. RHP Zack Littell (5-7, 4.06) is listed for the Rays.
Blue Jay: RHP José Berríos (9-9, 4.11 ERA) is scheduled to face Oakland RHP Mitch Spence (7-7, 4.40) on Friday night.
APMLB: apnews.com/hub/mlb
