BALTIMORE _ Upon his return to solid ground, Austin Hays let out a celebratory yell. A piece of gum clinging to his teeth, he pounded his chest three times as he stood on Camden Yards' center-field warning track, giving another exclamation.
"Let's go!"
A leap and a reach at the center-field wall had ended with the ball in his glove. He threw it back toward the infield while munching on that gum, savoring the best defensive play an Orioles outfielder has supplied in 2019. Toronto Blue Jays rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the victim of Hays' home run robbery, his drive to center meeting Hays' extended left arm and glove just shy of the 398 feet Statcast projected it to travel. Guerrero removed his batting helmet and tipped it in Hays' direction, with the Orioles' rookie returning the recognition with his cap as the crowd of 10,148 offered a standing ovation.
Hays' fourth-inning robbery denied Guerrero of what would've been Toronto's third straight home run off right-hander Gabriel Ynoa, and naturally, Hays added a solo shot of his own in the eighth, his first in the majors since Sept. 16, 2017. But neither of his major contributions was enough to overcome a third straight bullpen collapse in an 8-4 loss as the Blue Jays swept.
Once the Orioles' top prospect after a 32-homer season in the minors in 2017, Hays struggled during his cup of coffee that season and battled injuries the past two years. His long-awaited return to Camden Yards came Sept. 7, when he ranged far to his right on his first opportunity in center field to make a catch at the wall then made a diving catch to his left on the next play.
He's also performed better offensively than his previous time with the Orioles (49-104), with his home run bringing his batting line to .345/.424/.586. Notably, with two walks Thursday, he drew four in his first 31 major league plate appearances after walking only twice in 63 trips to the plate in 2017.
The highlight, of course, came with his glove.
Beyond the back-to-back homers from Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Ynoa cruised until the seventh, when Randal Grichuk grounded a one-out double past first baseman Renato Nunez and down the right-field line. That hit caused manager Brandon Hyde to end Ynoa's night after 77 pitches and bring in left-hander Tanner Scott, who took the mound with 10 strikeouts against one walk in six innings since his September promotion.
But Scott managed only one strike in his first nine pitches, loading the bases and prompting Hyde to make another move despite left-handed hitter Derek Fisher being Toronto's next hitter. Right-hander Dillon Tate walked Fisher on five pitches to give the Blue Jays the lead and, after striking out Bo Bichette, allowed three straight run-scoring hits to Biggio, Gurriel and Guerrero as Toronto scored six times in the seventh.
In the series, the Blue Jays (62-91) scored 18 earned runs against the Orioles' bullpen, which had allowed 30 earned runs total in a 26-game span from Aug. 20 through Monday.
Although September has been a forgettable month for the Orioles, it hasn't slowed Trey Mancini, who recorded his second career four-hit game and contributed to Baltimore's first three runs.
He delivered RBI doubles in the third and seventh, and his fifth-inning single moved Hanser Alberto to third, allowing him to score on Anthony Santander's fielder's choice. After getting hit by a pitch in the ninth denied him a chance at his first five-hit game, Mancini is batting .366 in September, while his two doubles joined him with Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon as the only majors leaguers with 36 doubles, 34 homers and 100 runs scored in 2019.
