Amid the underside of the tenth inning of a tie recreation at Camden Yards, Anthony Santander instructed Austin Hays to not fear about on the brink of hit. The inning, Santander stated, wouldn’t get previous Ryan McKenna.
He proved prophetic when McKenna, in his first at-bat Saturday afternoon after changing Santander in proper subject an inning earlier, launched a walk-off, two-run residence run to provide the Orioles a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
“I called it,” Santander stated proudly. “He’s an animal off the bench. That’s awesome. I’m so happy for him. He’s been ready all game. He really pays attention to the game. When his opportunity comes, he’s ready, and I’m so happy he hit that homer for us right there.”
A reserve outfielder usually used as a late-inning defensive substitute for Santander, McKenna’s residence run got here in his thirteenth plate look of June, having appeared in 15 of Baltimore’s video games. It marked the primary walk-off residence run by an Oriole who started a recreation on the bench since Rougned Odor’s game-ender May 20, 2022, a day earlier than Adley Rutschman’s main league debut.
“It’s awesome,” McKenna stated. “Stuff you try to visualize, try to be prepared for that moment. … Real definitely trumps.”
It took a sequence of occasions Saturday for McKenna to be standing within the batter’s field, lots of which didn’t go the Orioles’ manner.
In his first recreation off the injured listing, Cedric Mullins was set to start out in middle subject. But with rain passing via Baltimore earlier than the sport, supervisor Brandon Hyde tweaked his defensive positioning. Mullins went to designated hitter, Aaron Hicks slid from proper to middle, and Santander went out to proper after initially being DH.
That modified alignment meant that because the Orioles (46-29) introduced a one-run lead into the ninth, Hyde despatched McKenna out to proper rather than Santander, whose four-hit day included his fourth residence run in 5 video games. The association has been frequent, with McKenna serving as a trusted late-game substitute over the previous two seasons.
“When you’re with him every day, you really appreciate how much energy he brings to our team,” Hyde stated. “Just the kind of person he is is phenomenal. He’s a really good athlete, a great athlete, that has helped us the last couple years in a lot of ways. So fun to watch him get this moment today, and he’s earned it.”
It appeared uncertain McKenna would obtain a visit to the plate after nearer Félix Bautista retired the primary two Mariners (37-38) within the ninth, however Mike Ford launched the primary pitch he noticed from the hard-throwing right-hander deep to right-center for his second residence run of the day.
Baltimore wasted an opportunity within the backside of the ninth when pinch-runner Jorge Mateo was doubled off first on Mullins’ popup behind residence plate, certainly one of 4 outs the Orioles made on the bases Saturday. But the miscue meant that after Mike Baumann stranded the Mariners’ computerized runner within the prime of the tenth, Mullins served as Baltimore’s, scoring in entrance of McKenna in his first recreation after lacking 20 with a proper groin pressure.
Dean Kremer delivered his longest begin of the season for the Orioles, permitting three runs — all on solo residence runs — on 5 hits in seven innings whereas hanging out 5 and strolling one. He’s allowed three runs or fewer in 9 of his previous 10 begins, decreasing his ERA to 4.50. He, too, heaped reward on McKenna.
“He’s a good guy to have come in late in ballgames, make plenty of good catches and kind of be a catalyst,” Kremer stated. “He does a lot of stuff behind the scenes, like in the dugout, as far as picking up guys and stuff over the course of the game. He’s a big part of this team.”
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Mariners at Orioles
Sunday, 1:35 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com