Baltimore Orioles Star Matches Quirky Opening Day Streak

Adley Rutschman had another exceptional Opening Day, and in doing so, did something a baseball player hasn't done in more than 50 years.

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman had an Opening Day to remember last season, as he went 5-for-5 at the plate.

On Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels, he shot for an encore — and nearly got it.

In the bottom of the first he singled to right field and eventually scored on a Jordan Westburg single.

Then, in the second inning, Rutschman was at it again, as he singled to center and drove in Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo to give them a 4-1 lead.

Then, in the fourth inning, Rutschman reached on a fielder’s choice as his groundout to third base let to Gunnar Henderson being forced out at second base. Rutschman later scored for this third run of the game.

With that, the young catcher matched an Opening Day start that had not been matched in 50 years.

Combined with his 5-for-5 game against Boston last Opening Day — which was the first of his career — Rutschman reached base in eight straight at-bats. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, that made him the first player to reach base safely in each of his first eight or more career Opening Day plate appearances since 1968-72.

He matched Joe Lahoud, who also reached in his first eight career plate appearances on Opening Day.

Lahoud played 11 seasons, starting with the Boston Red Sox, followed by stints with the Milwaukee Brewers, the California Angels, the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals.

Rutschman starts his second full season behind the plate already recognized as one of the best catchers in baseball.

Last season Rutschman built on his solid rookie campaign to win the Silver Slugger behind the plate, make his first All-Star Game and finish ninth in American League Most Valuable Player voting.

Rutschman slashed .277/.374/.435/.809 with 31 doubles, a triple, 20 home runs and 80 RBI. He walked 92 times and struck out 101 times.