You may already know how it went, but it bears repeating.
The seventh inning was a landmark to remember in the Blue Jays’ doubleheader sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night.
Surprisingly, the Blue Jays were hitless in six innings in Game 2 from Orioles starter Keegan Akin, who entered with a 7.00 ERA for the season and a 6.75 ERA against the Blue Jays.
“His guy was doing an excellent job … pulling people out, unbalanced,” Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said after the game.
But after taking out the twinbill opener in the last inning on a two-run homer by George Springer, they did it again, and more.
Single. Career. Single.
The Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead and Akin gave way to another left-handed pitcher Tanner Scott.
Homer. Single. Single. Sacrificial flight. Single. Homer. Single.
Suddenly they were up 8-1. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde pointed to right-hander Manny Barreda.
Single. Career.
The Blue Jays started that final inning 11 of 11, including four home runs, and crossed the plate 11 times before it came to an end with two walks and a pair of line-outs.
Springer, in his first season as Jay after seven years with the Houston Astros, said he had never seen anything like it.
“That was crazy,” said Springer, who contributed a single to that rally. “The at-bats of Vladdy (Guerrero, who finished the no-hitter offering with a single) and Bo (Bichette, who homered next) are obviously that whole inning. I think it was one of those things where it became contagious and you saw quality at bat after quality at bat. “
The list of broken or tied records includes:
- Most hits and runs in a fourth inning or later by any MLB team that entered the no-hitter infield, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
- First team to hit a lead homer while trailing in the last scheduled inning of both games on a doubleheader.
- Multiple hits in the same inning from three players for the first time in Blue Jays history: Guerrero (two singles), Bichette and Teoscar Hernandez (both home run and single).
- All 11 runs equaled the team’s record for any one inning, achieved three more times: July 20, 1984 (ninth inning, Seattle), April 26, 1995 (second inning, Oakland), and July 25, 2007 (sixth inning, Minnesota).
- Four on-frame home runs (Bichette, Hernandez, Alejandro Kirk and Marcus Semien) also tied a franchise mark, the first set on August 17, 2001 against the Texas Rangers.
“They all feed off each other,” Springer said. “We understand that this will require that all people get to where we want to go.”
For Montoyo, 55 years old in baseball, it was almost unbelievable: “It’s something I’ve never seen.”
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