TORONTO -- Last August, Blue Jays manager John Schneider couldn¡¯t quite figure out the reason why Orioles slugger Ryan Mountcastle torments Toronto¡¯s pitching staff seemingly every time he steps into the batter¡¯s box at Rogers Centre, considering coffee and food dishes as possibilities.

¡°Maybe it¡¯s something here in Toronto that he likes, whether it¡¯s Tim Hortons, poutine or the backdrop here. Who knows?¡± Schneider said at the time.

Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde questioned whether the Blue Jays would somehow find a way to keep Mountcastle out of Canada.

¡°They¡¯re not going to let him back in here,¡± Hyde said then.

However, Toronto¡¯s least favorite baseball player has returned and again made himself at home.

Mountcastle mashed a pair of homers and collected five RBIs to lift the Orioles to a 10-1 win on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre. It marked the 27-year-old¡¯s 10th career multi-homer game -- four of which have come against the Blue Jays and two at this ballpark.

It was the third time Mountcastle has recorded a five-RBI game, all coming since the start of 2023, as he had nine vs. Oakland on April 11 and five at Kansas City on May 2 last season.

If there are any secrets to Mountcastle¡¯s success up north, he¡¯s not sharing them.

¡°They¡¯re a good team and just grateful that I got a couple good hits today, and in the past,¡± Mountcastle said, ¡°so just going to try to keep it going.¡±

No Toronto routine? Or a Canadian good luck charm? Anything?

¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Mountcastle said with a laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t know, sometimes, it just happens.¡±

Just how dominant has Mountcastle been vs. the Blue Jays, particularly in Toronto?

? Of his 88 career home runs, 17 have come against the Blue Jays, his most vs. any team. (His next most is 10 against the Red Sox.)
? He¡¯s hit eight homers at Rogers Centre and no more than three at any other road ballpark.
? Rogers Centre is the only road ballpark where he has multiple multi-homer games, having also hit two on June 15, 2022.
? In his previous series in Toronto from July 31-Aug. 3, 2023, he went 11-for-13 with six RBIs while reaching base in 14 of his 18 plate appearances.

¡°I think he loves to hit here, and I think whenever you have positive moments somewhere, it feels good to be in that spot, and so I¡¯m sure he loves playing here,¡± Hyde said. ¡°He¡¯s had a lot of big hits here, and the last couple of years, he¡¯s really swung the bat well, especially in this ballpark. So I¡¯m sure he¡¯s got a lot of confidence here.¡±

Mountcastle¡¯s first homer on Tuesday gave the Orioles an early cushion. After Adley Rutschman opened the scoring with an RBI single, Mountcastle promptly followed with a three-run homer off right-hander Bowden Francis to left field.

In the fifth, Mountcastle got to Francis again, connecting on a fastball up in the zone and blasting it a Statcast-projected 443 feet to straightaway center field.

¡°It is kind of ironic,¡± Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. ¡°There¡¯s a few hitters we face who I feel like we talk about quite a bit, whether it¡¯s this team or another team. You have to execute your pitches. If you¡¯re throwing [stuff] in the middle of the zone and hoping for a good result, it¡¯s probably not going to happen against Ryan Mountcastle, or against me. You have to execute.¡±

The Orioles (39-20) moved a season-high 19 games above .500 with a win that also featured seven innings of one-run ball from ace Corbin Burnes and the first career hit for Connor Norby. The club¡¯s No. 6 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning.

Baltimore has also won each of its first two games this week in Toronto, improving to 3-1 against the Blue Jays this season and 13-4 in AL East matchups.

The O¡¯s also extended their streak of divisional sets without a series loss to 20, as they¡¯re assured of leaving Toronto with nothing worse than a four-game split.

So while Mountcastle surely enjoys hitting in Canada -- even if he (and everybody else) isn¡¯t exactly sure if maple syrup is somehow his sort of secret sauce -- it¡¯s the Orioles¡¯ overall success that is most important to him.

¡°Great win for the team,¡± Mountcastle said.