Ramón Urías and Anthony Santander homered and the Baltimore Orioles beat the depleted Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Tuesday night.
The Orioles took a 4-0 lead in the third inning and improved to 6-6 since the All-Star break to remain atop the American League East.
Corbin Burnes allowed two runs and just four hits while striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings. Although the Orioles added starters Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers to their roster before the trade deadline, Burnes (11-4, 2.47 ERA) remains the undisputed ace of the roster.
“So consistent. So hard to hit. [contre lui] “Because the ball moves so much, over 90 miles with a great curveball and a great changeup,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “That’s pretty much what he’s done almost every time for us. He’s a horse and he’s No. 1.”
A four-time All-Star and 2021 Cy Young Award winner, Burnes has gone at least six innings in each of his last 17 starts, allowed three runs or fewer in 21 of his last 22 outings and is on pace for his fourth straight season with at least 200 strikeouts.
As the Orioles looked last week to improve their playoff roster, the last-place Blue Jays made trades with the future in mind. After trading infielder Justin Turner and reliever Yusei Kikuchi on Monday, the Jays parted ways with reliever Trevor Richards, infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier just hours before the trade deadline Tuesday.
Starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (8-10) allowed five runs and nine hits in four innings, including a solo homer to Urías and a two-run single to Ryan O’Hearn in a three-run third.
Urías singled to drive in a run and Santander hit his 31st homer in the fifth off Brendon Little to extend a 6-1 lead.
Santander’s homer bounced off the top of the fielders’ corner, eluding a clumsy attempt by right fielder Addison Barger to catch the hit.
“That’s a weird wall out there. We saw that with a couple of other guys, too,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Maybe he lost track of where he was a little bit, and Santander likes to hit home runs against us.”
Santander has 19 career home runs against the Jays, more than against any team.
The Blue Jays finished with five hits, including four singles.
Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk left the game with a bruised elbow.