Blue Jays GDB 2.0: Jays look to bounce back after an embarrassing Opening Day loss
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Mar 28, 2025, 17:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 2, 2025, 09:00 EDT
Well, Thursday didn’t go well.
After a lengthy Opening Day ceremony, the Blue Jays kicked off their 2025 season and to say that it didn’t go well was an understatement. Adley Rutschman hit a home run in the first inning, which was one of the six home runs hit in the game. Blue Jays starter  José Berríos gave up three of them in a similar outing to his 2022 Opening Day. However, the Jays were unable to come back from the deficit and fell 12-2.
There were positives, though. Making his big league debut was outfielder Alan Roden, who also managed to notch his first big league hit. Moreover, Andrés Giménez hit his first home run as a Blue Jay just two plate appearances into his tenure. Last season, it took until Apr. 30 or his 27th game for his first home run of the season with the Cleveland Guardians.
Speaking about former Guardians, Nick Sandlin made his Blue Jays debut as well in garbage time, pitching a scoreless inning. He was one of just two Blue Jays pitchers (the other being Richard Lovelady) who didn’t give up an earned run.
Thankfully, it’s a new day, which means a new opportunity for the Blue Jays to win. They play the second of four games against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday evening. If they win, that 12-2 loss becomes a footnote as they’ll be back to .500.
Let’s set up Game 2 of the season.

Location: Toronto
First Pitch: 7:07 PM ET
Watch/Listen: Apple TV+

Starting Pitchers

Toronto Blue Jays – Kevin Gausman: 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP,  0 SO,  0 BB
Baltimore Orioles – Charlie Morton – 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO,  0 BB

Lineups:

Blue Jays:
  1. Bo Bichette – SS
  2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
  3.  Anthony Santander – DH
  4. Andrés Giménez – 2B
  5.  Alejandro Kirk – C
  6. George Springer – RF
  7. Will Wagner – 3B
  8. Nathan Lukes – CF
  9. Alan Roden – LF
Orioles:
  1. Colton Cowser – LF
  2. Adley Rutschman – C
  3.  Jordan Westburg – 3B
  4. Ryan O’Hearn – DH
  5. Tyler O’Neill – RF
  6. Cedric Mullins – CF
  7. Ryan Mountcastle – 1B
  8. Jackson Holliday – 2B
  9. Jorge Mateo – SS

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.