Game recap: Lauer makes first start; Blue Jays homer against Orioles

With the loss, the Blue Jays are now 14-10-1, and tied for second place in the Grapefruit League standing, in a tie with the Boston Red Sox and percentage points behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Eric Lauer, coming off two strong relief appearances, made his start for the Blue Jays, in place of the injured Max Scherzer, and got hurt by the long ball.

Lauer gave up a solo home run in the second inning, followed by another solo shot and then a three-run homer in third to put the Jays in a 5-0 hole. Jackson Holliday stole two bases off Ryan Yarbrough in the 4th, who then gave up two singles and a wild pitch, increasing Baltimore's lead by two runs.

The Blue Jays finally got on the board in the 6th inning courtesy of a Bo Bichettesolo home run. It was fourth long ball of spring. Leo Jimenez hit a RBI single in the 7th to pull the Jays to within five, but then Ryan Mountcastle got one back for the Orioles in the bottom half with a solo home run.

Lauer, who has an outside shot at making the team as the 5th starter, gave up five runs on four hits while striking out three and walking two over the course of two innings. Ryan Yarbrough gave up two runs in 1.1 innings before Jonathan Lavallee and Josh Walker each contributed a scoreless third.

New Blue Jay signing Justin Bruihl gave up a run in his first inning of work while Jacob Barnes and Kevin Gowdy both continued to make a push for the final spot in the Blue Jays bullpen with a scoreless inning each.

Following an off-day Wednesday, the Blue Jays continue their Spring slate on Thursday with a game against theTampa Bay Rays. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm ET.