Orioles win Game 1, eliminate Blue Jays from wild-card chase

The Baltimore Orioles defeated the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon in the first game of a doubleheader, officially eliminating Toronto from postseason contention. Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer, his 41st of the season, to give Baltimore a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning, while starting pitcher Chris Bassitt earned the win by allowing two runs over five-plus innings.

Toronto answered with two runs in the sixth inning on an infield single by Brandon Valenzuela and a throwing error, but Andrew Kittredge closed out the game in the ninth for his 11th save. Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer took the loss, surrendering four runs across five innings of work.