Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays Pick & Prediction MARCH 30th 2025
Preview and Prediction
Japanese sensation Tomoyuki Sugano will be making his highly anticipated debut in the MLB this Sunday afternoon as the Baltimore Orioles take on the Toronto Blue Jays in hopes of securing a series win.
The 35-year-old right-handed pitcher signed a lucrative one-year, $13 million contract with the Orioles back in December.
Last season, Sugano boasted an impressive 15-3 record with a remarkable 1.67 ERA in Japan's Central League, marking his 12th season with the Yomiuri Giants.
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During his first 10 1/3 innings at spring training, Sugano managed to keep his opponents scoreless. However, in his most recent outing against the New York Yankees on March 20, he gave up five runs in just 4 2/3 innings, including a two-run double and a three-run homer by Jazz Chisholm.
Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman praised Sugano's performance, stating that he faced some of the Yankees' top players and was able to get a feel for how his pitches would play out in the MLB. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde also commended Sugano, aside from the two at-bats against Chisholm, for his overall solid performance and ability to face some of the top hitters in the AL East.
Sugano himself acknowledged that his command was not at its best during his last outing, but he used the opportunity to work on refining his splitter, which he believes was successful.
In their most recent game, the Orioles secured their second win of the series with a 9-5 victory, thanks to a stellar performance by Jordan Westburg who hit two home runs and went 4-for-5.
On the other hand, the Blue Jays will be relying on Chris Bassitt to help them secure a series split. However, Bassitt has had some struggles against the Orioles in the past, with a 4-3 record and a 5.01 ERA in eight career starts.
The Blue Jays' bullpen has been quite busy, particularly in their most recent game where starter Max Scherzer had to leave after just three innings due to a tight right lat. Scherzer, who allowed two runs in the first inning, stated that he had been feeling the tightness during his warmup and believes it may be due to a persistent thumb issue.
Toronto's Bo Bichette had an impressive 4-for-4 game with a walk, extending his streak of reaching base to eight consecutive plate appearances.
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Blue Jays manager John Schneider praised Bichette's performance, particularly his ability to take borderline pitches and focus on hitting the ball hard, which he believes is the final step for Bichette to become an elite player.
Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays Recap MAR 30TH 2025
Tyler Heineman hit his second career home run, Chris Bassitt pitched a resourceful six innings and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Baltimore Orioles 3-1 on Sunday afternoon.
George Springer had two RBIs to help give the Blue Jays a split in the season-opening four game series.
The Orioles were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Bassitt's wild pitch scored Ryan O'Hearn from third in the first inning. O'Hearn singled with two out and slid into third in a close play on Tyler O'Neill's single to left.
Baltimore starter Tomoyuki Sugano, making his major league debut after a distinguished career in Japan, consistently fell behind in the count in the early innings. He walked Bo Bichette on four pitches to open the home first. Andres Gimenez hit a two-out double and Springer lined a two-run single to center.
Sugano allowed two runs, four hits and two walks with one strikeout in four innings before leaving with apparent hand cramps. He made one warmup pitch prior to the fifth before a trainer was summoned to the mound. Matt Bowman took over after being promoted from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday with Albert Suarez (shoulder inflammation) going on injured list.
Bassitt escaped jams through his six innings using seven strikeouts and did not have a clean inning in allowing one run, eight hits and two walks. The Orioles had two runners on base in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Brendon Little replaced Bassitt and pitched a perfect seventh.
Heineman led off the home seventh with a home run to left field off Cionel Perez. It was his first major league home run since 2019 when he was with the Miami Marlins.
Toronto reliever Yariel Rodriguez pitched around an eighth-inning single with two strikeouts.
Jeff Hoffman, an offseason free-agent signing, pitched a clean ninth with two strikeouts to earn his first save as a Blue Jay.
Toronto's Max Scherzer (thumb inflammation), who left his start on Saturday after three innings was put on injured reserve. Left-handers Mason Fluharty and Easton Lucas were promoted. Left-hander Richard Lovelady was designated for assignment.