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Series Preview: Blue Jays head to Baltimore seeking third straight series win
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Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Aidan Sinclair
May 28, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: May 28, 2026, 14:55 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays haven’t swept a series since their opening matchup against the A’s at the end of March. At the same time, their only two series losses since April 20th have been at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays. 
Most recently, during a six-game homestand, the team went 4-2, taking series from the Pirates and Marlins. Against Miami, they surrendered a tough defeat Monday night, in large part due to the defensive miscues from Yohendrick Pinango, but would bounce back offensively on Tuesday, scoring eight runs. Jesus Sanchez hit the first grand slam of his career to blow the game open against Sandy Alcantara, and on Wednesday, Kevin Gausman and the back end of the bullpen held Miami’s pesky lineup to just one run on 12 hits. 
Although it has been a struggle for this Blue Jays team to climb back to a .500 record, two consecutive series wins have brought the club to within two games of eclipsing that mark at 27-29, and they now hold the third wild card spot. With a four-game set coming up against the Baltimore Orioles, a series win could bring them to .500 before they face their toughest month of the season to date in June. 
The most notable news from Wednesday night was the announcement of #26 Blue Jays prospect Charles McAdoo receiving the call-up to the major leagues from Triple-A Buffalo. Lenyn Sosa is heading to the IL as the corresponding move. 
McAdoo was acquired by Toronto at the 2024 trade deadline in exchange for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. In his first year with the Bisons, he has posted a solid .250/.357/.432 slash line with eight home runs in 50 games. He brings positional versatility, having split time between third and first base this season in Buffalo, while also accruing 17 innings at second base. A left-handed heavy lineup will certainly welcome the power-hitting righty with open arms.

Examining the Baltimore Orioles

After a disappointing 2025 campaign that saw the Orioles plummet to a 75-87 record, expectations were high for a team that featured one of the best lineups on paper heading into 2026. As it stands, the Orioles are 26-30, sitting one game back of the Blue Jays in the American League East, and are fresh off a three-game sweep of the best team in the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays. 
As a team, the Orioles are slashing .237/.317/.392 with a 102 WRC+, good for 11th best in the entire league. They also possess the seventh-best team walk rate in the league at 10.1%, but strikeout at the fifth-worst clip, at 24.2%. They’ve hit 63 to the Blue Jays’ 52 home runs on the year, though many of their middle-of-the-order bats are yet to reach their full potential. The likes of Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, Taylor Ward and Colton Cowser all have an OPS below .750, severely underperforming their expectations thus far. 
The Orioles’ pitching staff isn’t doing much better this season either, posting the fourth-worst team ERA at 4.70. Their starting pitching ranks even worse, posting the third-highest ERA at 4.80, with the fifth-worst FIP at 4.62 through 279.1 innings pitched to this point. They have a difficult time keeping the ball on the ground, with an 11.7% HR/FB rate ranking 12th worst in the league, and registering the seventh worst HR/9 at 1.29. Their BB/9 ranks fifth-worst in the league at 3.93, and they don’t rank much better in terms of strikeouts, having the seventh-worst K/9 at 7.83. 
Though their bullpen has been slightly better than their rotation, they still grade out as the eighth-worst bullpen in the league with a 4.56 ERA, though their FIP of 3.89 suggests they should have the 13th-best bullpen in the league. Similarly to the rotation, they’ve had a tough time keeping the ball on the ground with the fifth-worst GB% at 39.0%, though in terms of HR/FB rate, they rank 14th best at 9.8%. The rank right in the middle of the pack with a 3.61 BB/9 and 8.63 K/9, though, has posted the seventh highest team bullpen ERA thus far at 2.1, in 217 innings. 

One player to watch: Adley Rutschman

The former number one overall pick has been a nightmare for the Blue Jays’ pitching staff ever since he made his MLB debut in 2022. For his career against Toronto, he is slashing .320/.392/.590/.982 with 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 50 games played.
Though in 2024 and 2025 he took drastic steps back offensively, posting a .709 and .673 OPS respectively, he has bounced back in a big way thus far in 2026, with a slashline of .268/.340/.500/.840 with seven home runs and a 138 OPS+ through his first 38 games played. He holds by far the highest Hard Hit Rate of his career this season at 45.4% and second-best strikeout rate of 15.1%.
His numbers at home this season have been far greater than his road numbers, posting a .321 AVG with a 1.009 OPS and five home runs at home, compared to a .197 AVG with a .613 OPS and just two home runs on the road. He has also fared much better against right-handed pitching, with a .287 AVG and .876 OPS across 95 plate appearances. The Blue Jays only have three southpaws on their current active roster in Patrick Corbin, Adam Macko and Mason Fluharty, meaning his weaker .236 AVG and .783 OPS against lefties shouldn’t play a huge role.

Quick Hits

  • Former Blue Jay Chris Bassitt will be facing his former team in the first game of this series Thursday night, as he looks to find his form after struggling to a 5.51 ERA through 47 1/3 innings pitched thus far. He has just 34 strikeouts on the year, posting the worst K% of his career at just 15.3% and the second-highest opponent OPS of his career at .823. After posting a 1.04 ERA in the 2025 Blue Jays playoff run, he’ll go to work against his former club for the first time since signing with the Orioles this past offseason.
  • Gunnar Henderson has taken multiple steps back offensively in the past two years, posting the worst slash line of his career thus far in 2026 with a .222/.274/.440/.714 clip, though his power has returned, hitting 13 home runs already through 55 games. Once a top-five MVP finalist a few years back, Henderson was mired with injuries last year, suffering an oblique strain in spring training and playing through left shoulder impingement the latter half of the year. He is now healthy, and though his strikeout rate of 27.8% is alarming, his power seems to have returned now at full strength.
  • Though the Orioles’ bullpen has struggled mightily, Rico Garcia has been doing his best to hold down the fort, with a 0.77 ERA and eight holds through 23.1 innings pitched. A former 30th-round pick of the Rockies back in 2016, Garcia is a journeyman who has played for eight different big league clubs, finding a home with Baltimore the last two years. He’s been by far the best arm out of the Orioles bullpen this season, posting a 1.6 BWAR already and allowing just two runs thus far.
  • The Orioles will be without Ryan Mountcastle in this series, who is out with a fractured left foot he suffered back in early April. For his career, Mountcastle has been a thorn in the Blue Jays’ side, posting a .298/.357/.566/.923 slashline with 19 home runs in 72 games against Toronto. The Jays also won’t be seeing Baltimore’s closer Ryan Helsley, who is currently out with right elbow inflammation and had recorded seven saves with a 2.53 ERA in his first 10.2 innings with the Orioles.
  • John Schneider said before Thursday’s game that “there will be a little bit of a roster shuffle,” according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. This comes in reference to the Blue Jays’ pitching plans for Friday night, with the team having to fill the void of Dylan Cease, who is currently on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Connor Seabold was recently acquired from the Detroit Tigers and Austin Voth had been called up to the big league club, both of which could factor into Friday’s game. Another notable name is Chad Dallas, who was recently scratched from a start with the Buffalo Bisons on May 26th, potentially hinting at a spot start for the Blue Jays on Friday. Dallas has posted a 4.50 ERA in nine games pitched for Buffalo this year.

Probable pitchers

Thursday: Patrick Corbin/Chris Bassitt
Friday: TBA/Trevor Rogers
Saturday: Trey Yesavage/Brandon Young
Sunday: TBA (Spencer Miles)/Kyle Bradish

Game times

Thursday: 6:35 PM EST 
Friday: 7:05 PM EST 
Saturday: 4:05 PM EST
Sunday: 12:15 PM EST 

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