Blue Jays Grapefruit League recap: 5-2 over Orioles

The Blue Jays managed to get up a win on Tuesday on the strength of a strong start by Aaron Sanchez, and another good offensive game from Kevin Pillar.

With Aaron Sanchez on the mound on Tuesday, Blue Jays fans were hoping for a win, even if it’s just Grapefruit League at this time of year. He and his teammates gave them just that, beating the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 5-2 in the afternoon affair.

Sanchez gave coaches and fans plenty to get excited about, pitching into the 4th inning and allowing just 1 hit, a solo shot from Chris Davis. He wasn’t perfect, as he also allowed 4 walks, but he struck out 2, and allowing the home run was the lone Oriole hit against him. He threw 52 pitches in the outing, 29 of them for strikes.

After the game, Sanchez told MLB.com how he was feeling during and after the outing.

"“I was able to come out and compete and execute what I wanted. I was attacking guys. Everything felt real good. It was the best I’ve felt this spring. Just want to continue to do what’s needed in these final 10-12 days.”"

The Blue Jays started somewhat slowly against Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez, but managed to touch him up for 4 runs in the 4th inning. Jon Berti drove in a pair on a single, before he and another were brought home by a two-run double from Kevin Pillar. Pillar was 2-3 with 2 RBI, as he continues to swing a strong stick during Grapefruit League play.

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The other Blue Jays run came in the 8th inning on a Jake Elmore sacrifice fly, bringing the game to it’s final score of 5-2. The Orioles scored their other run in the 4th inning as well against Jeff Beliveau, but were shut down the rest of the way by a combination of Lucas Harrell, Dominic Leone and Chad Girodo.

During the game, news also broke of a pending contract extension with manager, John Gibbons. Reports of a 2 year extension with an option for 2020 have been flying around in rumours, but nothing has been finalized as of this writing.

The Blue Jays will continue their Grapefruit League action tomorrow against the Detroit Tigers. Marco Estrada will be starting for the Jays against a familiar face in left-hander, Daniel Norris. Norris was traded to the Tigers during the 2015 season as part of the package that brought David Price to Toronto. The matchup is scheduled to get underway at 1:07 EST.

Next: Blue Jays' Donaldson makes his spring debut