Gausman shines in return to Baltimore to help Blue Jays win 1st game of doubleheader

Kevin Gausman made a triumphant return to Camden Yards and Teoscar Hernandez homered, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday in the opener of a doubleheader.

Gausman (11-9) allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings in his first start at Baltimore since he was acquired in a 2018 trade with the Orioles. The right-hander won consecutive starts for the first time since May.

Toronto won its fourth in a row and increased its lead over Baltimore for the American League's third wild card to 3 1/2 games. The Blue Jays and Orioles play 10 times over the final 31 days of the regular season.

Anthony Santander homered from both sides of the plate for Baltimore, which has lost two in a row after a four-game win streak. Adley Rutschman had two hits and scored a run.

Hernandez hit his 20th homer in the eighth, a solo shot that lifted Toronto to a 4-2 lead. After Santander connected in the bottom half, the Blue Jays put it away with three runs in the ninth.

George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette hit consecutive RBI singles against rookie DL Hall.

The 31-year-old Gausman was back in a familiar environment for the first time in more than four years. Baltimore took the right-hander with the No. 4 pick in the 2012 draft, and he zipped through the team's minor league system. Gausman debuted in 2013 and was 24-20 with a 3.70 ERA in 70 appearances at Camden Yards before he was dealt to Atlanta in July 2018.

His biggest obstacle Monday was arguably a fourth-inning balk call. Gausman stormed off the mound and started arguing with second base umpire Jeff Nelson before Bichette rushed in to hold him back.

Gausman is 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA in seven starts since Aug. 2.

Mike Baumann