The Orioles have three starting pitchers on their injured list. Zach Elfin won’t return after undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. Dean Kremer hasn’t begun an injury rehab assignment while recovering from a strained right quadriceps. Cade Povich received a cortisone injection in his right elbow on May 19 and no longer has a locker in the clubhouse.

Opening Day starter Trevor Rogers spent time on the IL with the flu, again putting the Orioles in rotation scramble mode.

An opportunity is presented to Brandon Young, and he’s running with it.

Young struck out a career-high seven batters today in 6 2/3 innings and allowed only two runs. And this time, an impressive outing by an Orioles starter didn’t come with a loss.

The offense couldn’t take advantage of seven walks from Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage, and Keegan Akin let two inherited runners score in the eighth inning, but eight consecutive batters reached with one out in the ninth and Pete Alonso’s single to center field off Connor Seabold gave the Orioles an improbable 6-5 victory before an announced crowd of 32,645 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are 27-32 as their 10-game homestand concludes on Sunday. They grounded into two double plays earlier in the day after loading the bases and a third after putting two runners on base with no outs in the sixth. They were held to three hits until Leody Taveras’ RBI triple off Jeff Hoffman in the ninth. He scored on Jackson Holliday’s single.

The rally continued with Colton Cowser’s double and Taylor Ward’s walk. Another bases-loaded situation. This time, Gunnar Henderson walked, and Seabold replaced Hoffman with the Blue Jays clinging to a 5-4 lead.

Adley Rutschman also walked to tied the game and Alonso won it.

No Orioles celebration can come without more pain. Samuel Basallo dropped to one knee and grabbed his left shoulder after striking out in the ninth. He was grimacing as he walked to the dugout with head athletic trainer Scott Barringer, but he stood on deck as Alonso batted.

The Orioles’ rotation has produced a 2.66 ERA in the last 11 games. Young lowered his ERA to 3.35 in eight starts and doesn’t need to worry about hopping back on the Triple-A shuttle.

Ward drew another walk leading off the bottom of the first inning, and he robbed Kazuma Okamoto in the second inning with a leaping catch at the left field fence – a 373-foot out that prompted Young to applaud him from the mound.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ripped a 105.3 mph single into left field with two outs in the first after Young began the game by striking out George Springer and Nathan Lukes. Springer singled with two outs in the third after Young struck out Andrés Giménez and Tyler Heineman with four-seamers clocked at 95 and 95.1 mph.

Guerrero led off the fourth with a single. Jeremiah Jackson made a diving catch in his first start in right field this season and Okamoto struck out on a 95.7 mph fastball, but the Jays led 2-1 after Jesús Sánchez’s double and Ernie Clement’s single – both hit to center field.

Leody Taveras appeared to get a late break on Sánchez’s ball and it nicked the top of his glove as he attempted a leaping catch on the warning track.  

Young walked two batters in the fifth because that was the theme today, but the Orioles turned a double play in between and Mayo charged Guerrero’s slow roller, made the barehand pickup and threw him out.

The defense kept rushing to Young’s aid, with Taveras’ play the exception. Daulton Varsho led off the sixth with a double into the right field corner and was thrown out at third base – Jackson to Jackson Holliday to Mayo, who made a nice sprawling tag. Young struck out the next two batters.

Okamoto had a two-run double off Akin in the eighth after Anthony Nunez allowed back-to-back singles. The Blue Jays tallied an unearned run against Albert Suárez in the ninth.

Plenty of plate opportunities

Yesavage didn’t allow a hit until Henderson’s 104.3 mph RBI single in the third, but he walked five of the first 12 batters, including Jackson and Ward back-to-back before Henderson came to the plate. Ward’s season total grew to 52.

Henderson was 2-for-26 before his single. Alonso grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.

Yesavage was making his 10th major league start, not counting the playoffs, and he hadn’t walked more than three batters. Basallo doubled that total leading off the fourth inning, and Holliday made it seven after Mayo’s single and Taveras’ sacrifice bunt. Mayo won a challenge to avoid the strikeout.

The Orioles failed again with the bases loaded. Okamoto stepped on third base while fielding Jackson’s grounder and threw across the diamond for the double play. Yesavage was at 81 pitches, 39 for strikes.

Yesavage allowed one run and two hits in five innings and lowered his ERA to 2.19. He threw 92 pitches, 48 for strikes.

Down on the farm

Left-hander Micah Ashman began his injury rehab assignment with High-A Frederick. Ashman had a 2.45 ERA and 1.473 WHIP in 11 games with Double-A Chesapeake. He walked six and struck out 34 in 181 /3 innings and surrendered only one home run. The Orioles acquired Ashman from the Tigers for Charlie Morton at last year’s trade deadline.