Cedric Mullins Powers Baltimore Orioles to Victory By Robbing, Hitting Home Run
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins has been off of the injured list for all of three days, and he is already delivering game-winning plays in the biggest moments.
The Orioles led the Seattle Mariners 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, as right-hander Mike Baumann took the mound looking for the save in the series rubber match. But after forcing a pop out to retire the leadoff man, Baumann served up a hanging knuckle-curve to first baseman Ty France.
France sent the pitch deep to right-center, appearing to clobber the ball into the bleachers. However, Mullins had other plans, reaching all the way over the outfield wall to rob the potential game-tying home run.
Mullins' game-saving grab was essentially rendered moot the very next at-bat, though, as outfielder Dominic Canzone wound up taking Baumann deep regardless. Canzone's home run tied the contest at 3-3 and sent the game to extra innings.
And in the very next frame, Mullins came through again to seal the deal.
Mullins stepped up to the plate with one out and a man on third, eventually working his way into a full count. Right-hander Trent Thornton tried to fire a fastball right through the strike zone, only for Mullins to pounce on it.
Much to the dismay of the crowd at T-Mobile Park, Mullins belted a two-run home run that put the Orioles on top 5-3 – a lead they would hold onto in the bottom half of the 10th.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Mullins is the first player to rob a home run and hit a home run in the ninth inning or later of the same game in the last 10 seasons.
Baltimore, after also pulling out a one-run win in extras on Saturday, did so again to clinch the series on Sunday. The Orioles are now 25-13 since July 1, which is the third-best record in baseball in that time.
Mullins was absent for a good chunk of Baltimore's ongoing hot streak, spending nearly a month on the injured list with a right adductor groin strain. A separate right groin strain cost him nearly all of June as well.
The Orioles drafted Mullins in 2015, and he made his major league debut for the club in 2018. In 2021, Mullins made the All-Star Game, won a Silver Slugger and finished ninth in AL MVP voting.
Between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Mullins missed just nine of Baltimore's 324 games.
Mullins has had to trudge his way through an injury-plagued 2023 campaign, but he is still hitting .253 with a .791 OPS through 72 games. The 28-year-old outfielder ranks fourth among Baltimore position players in WAR this season, and his performance Sunday surely boosted his stock in that statistical category.
The Orioles are scheduled to continue their West Coast road trip Monday against the San Diego Padres. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET.
Baltimore now sits at 73-45, giving them a 3.0-game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and a 98.1% chance of making the postseason, per FanGraphs.
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