Austin Hays gets the better of left field wall as Orioles topple Twins, 5-3, behind power barrage – Baltimore Sun

2022-06-03 23:27:45 By : Ms. Li Xu

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Jorge Lopez reacts after striking out Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton for the final out of a baseball game, Thursday, May 5, 2022, in Baltimore. The Orioles won 5-3. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) (Julio Cortez/AP)

Austin Hays looked back into the Orioles’ dugout as he passed first base, as if he wanted to see the expressions on his teammates faces. The ball that had just left his bat — a rocket that just cleared the newly remodeled left-field wall — continued a power barrage off Minnesota Twins pitching, and his might’ve been the most impressive blast of the lot.

The 30 extra feet and 13-foot wall that now stands in left field at Oriole Park at Camden Yards has been an imposing figure to beat. The lone player to do so before Thursday was first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. Other balls have launched and hovered and died somewhere short of that fence.

But not Hays’ ball. That long ball was one of five homers from Orioles hitters Thursday, a bombardment that sank the Twins in the series finale, 5-3, to end the four-game set split at two games apiece.

“We’re playing exciting baseball,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Our [10-16] record doesn’t indicate for me our level of how we’re playing.”

That extra footage doesn't bother Hays 💪 pic.twitter.com/eMHM9d8rit

At the beginning of this homestand, Hyde predicted the balls would begin flying out of the yard soon. There had been just eight homers between either team at Camden Yards through 11 games. In games 12 and 13, both teams combined to launch nine shots, and Hays became just the second to surpass the challenge of the new left-field fence.

It was the second of two standout plays from Hays. Playing left field earlier, a double from designated hitter Gary Sánchez looked destined to score a runner. But Hays’ dart from the left-field corner beat Max Kepler to the plate, and catcher Robinson Chirinos held on to make the tag.

HAYSER BEAM pic.twitter.com/8XlKOu1Kv8

“Definitely the throw,” Hays said when asked which highlight he preferred. “You hit more home runs than you get assists in the outfield. Any time I get to throw somebody out, especially if it’s a close game and teams are fighting back and forth, that one gets me.”

Between his long hit and that throw to the plate, Hays was a pivotal piece in winning a second consecutive game. The only downside to his night was surrendering the home run chain as quickly as he did; one batter later, Mountcastle hit his second dinger of the evening, and the gold links resting around Hays’ neck were quickly shed to a new owner.

“I turned around and Mounty went oppo, so I put it on him,” Hays said. “It was a short-lived stint with the O’s chain tonight.”

If you saw the the massive chain a couple Orioles wore last night (and Félix Bautista donned the night before) and thought, "What's the deal with that?" then @afkostka has just the story for you. https://t.co/g9dGyyxekS

The long ball worked for both teams. Faced with a 3-0 count in the fifth inning, right-hander Spenser Watkins tried to groove a 91-mph fastball over the heart of the plate.

And when Byron Buxton swung, he clubbed that get-me-over pitch deep — so deep — over both bullpens in left-center field for an estimated distance of 452 feet. That blast marked the end of Watkins’ night, following the two-run bomb with a four-pitch walk and a single.

“This is the big leagues,” Watkins said. “You get behind hitters, they’re paid too to come and hit baseballs in their zone. I just gotta get ahead of him and make a better pitch.”

Watkins had kept the damage manageable through much of his 4 2/3 innings, facing the minimum through two before one run scored in the third. It could’ve been more, however, if a replay review hadn’t deemed a throw from Ryan Mountcastle at first beat Jose Miranda to the plate.

But the Orioles roared back in a way they’ve infrequently done this season — with power.

“We’re really talented,” Hyde said. “Some of these guys, they’re gonna start figuring it out this year, and it was fun to watch our at-bats tonight.”

Mountcastle opened the second inning with a blast off right-hander Chris Archer, a welcome sight after he slugged .286 in his previous 21 games entering Thursday. Center fielder Cedric Mullins cranked his second homer in as many games — the sixth time in his career he’s gone deep in consecutive outings. Jorge Mateo went long for the first time this season, leveling the score at three, before later tripling.

Then came the back-to-back shots from Hays and Mountcastle in the eighth, setting the stage for right-hander Jorge Lopez’s save. And when each of those hitters got to the dugout, the newly christened home run chain was placed around their necks.

“It was great,” Mountcastle said. “Great to see the ball finally going over the fence for once.”