Baltimore, MD – Jonathan Schoop homered in his major league debut Wednesday and the Baltimore Orioles snapped a six-game losing streak with a 9-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Schoop singled in his first MLB at-bat and hit a solo homer in his third.
"He didn't look particularly nervous," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. "I was (nervous) for him."
The spark came a little late for the Orioles.
They got their first win in a week one day after being eliminated from playoff contention in a 3-2 loss in 10 innings to the Blue Jays. Wednesday's victory did guarantee the Orioles (82-76) their second winning season in a row after they went 14 years without one.
Ryan Flaherty hit a pair of two-run homers for Baltimore and Steve Pearce had a solo shot.
Orioles starter Bud Norris yielded three runs, seven hits and two walks in four innings with five strikeouts and T.J. McFarland (3-1) pitched an inning- plus for the win.
Esmil Rogers (5-9) was charged with six runs in 4 1/3 innings to take the loss. He gave up eight hits and a walk and struck out two.
Munenori Kawasaki and Josh Thole both had four hits for the Blue Jays.
The Orioles knocked Rogers out of the game during a three-run rally in the fifth inning.
Rogers came out after Nick Markakis' RBI single and Aaron Loup gave up a ground-rule double to Chris Davis to plate another run. Pearce was intentionally walked to load the bases and the third run scored on Jason Pridie's groundout, giving the Orioles a 6-3 lead.
"The first couple of innings he looked pretty good, and then they started hitting him around," Jays manager John Gibbons said of Rogers. "He was in some jams for most of the game, and then they opened it up there in the middle."
Toronto got a run back in the sixth, but Schoop put the Orioles on top 7-4 with a homer to center field off Kyle Drabek. Drabek walked Flaherty then was taken out after a Nate McLouth grounder hit him in the leg.
Flaherty hit a two-run homer off Ricky Romero in the eighth that also scored Schoop, who had walked.
Kevin Pillar hit an RBI double in the ninth off Danny Valencia for Toronto's last run.
Earlier, Jose Reyes hit an RBI single in the second inning for the Blue Jays. In the third, Anthony Gose hit an RBI triple and scored on Thole's single to make it 3-0 Toronto.
Schoop hit a second-pitch single in the third and scored on Flaherty's homer to right.
Pearce tied the game with a home run in the fourth, making it 3-3.
Game Notes
Flaherty hit his ninth and 10th homers of the season and Pearce his fourth others ... The Orioles avoided what would have been a season-worst seventh straight loss.
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