Santander homers in return to Camden Yards, his first HR for Blue Jays

All it took was a trip to his former ballpark.

Santander returned to Camden Yards on Saturday, and after receiving a nice ovation from the Baltimore crowd — and a video tribute soon after — the ex-Orioles slugger went deep in the third inning. His solo homer gave Toronto a 3-0 lead over a slumping Baltimore team.

After spending his first eight seasons with the Orioles, including a 44-homer campaign last year, Santander left for the AL East-rival Blue Jays, signing a $92.5 million, five-year contract. He’s started slowly this year, and after receiving a nice cheer from the crowd, he grounded out in the first inning.

After the bottom of the first, Santander received a tribute on the scoreboard. Then in the third, he hit a drive to right field through the chilly April air off Tomoyuki Sugano. That was his third RBI of the season.

Santander hit another deep flyball in the fifth, but it was caught on the warning track.