There was a touch of a smile on right-hander Hunter Harvey’s face, whilst the house run he had simply conceded left his present workforce tied along with his former workforce. The amusing side wasn’t how far the ball had traveled, or what the scoreboard learn after the reliever’s outing ended for the Washington Nationals.
It was who hit that homer.
When Ryan Mountcastle reached first base on his house run trot Tuesday evening at Nationals Park, he smirked towards Harvey. Harvey returned one, the look of two former roommates whereas with Double-A Bowie in 2018 who now discovered themselves pitted in opposition to one another on the highest stage.
The opposite-field blast from Mountcastle — his fourth this month, tying what number of he produced in August — tied the sport within the fifth and Austin Hays delivered the go-ahead double quickly after in Baltimore’s 4-3 win in opposition to Washington, opening a two-game sequence on a optimistic notice to maintain its playoff hopes inside view.
The evening earlier than, Mountcastle and Harvey met for dinner. The smack discuss revolved round Mountcastle’s assurances that he’d take Harvey deep, whereas Harvey joked he’d as an alternative plunk Mountcastle within the again — “I was like, ‘You better not hit me in the back, man. You throw way too hard,’” Mountcastle mentioned.
Instead, the primary baseman squared up a 99 mph fastball and took it deep. He peeked out of the nook of his eye, and he may see the “little smile” on Harvey’s face exhibiting.
“It’s probably one of my favorite home runs I’ve ever hit,” Mountcastle mentioned. “I’ll definitely hold it over him for a while.”
That can be nothing new. Harvey informed reporters that he as soon as obtained Mountcastle out in minor-league camp, however Mountcastle later hit a single by way of Harvey’s legs and added a triple.
“He’s been talking crap since, and that was 2015,” Harvey mentioned. “We’ve been together on the same team for the last four or five years. We always talked about ‘What if we got to face off?’ And we did. He might have won tonight, but it’ll be the last time.”
In the clubhouse pregame, Orioles (74-67) gamers have been glued to the TV to catch the top of the primary recreation of a doubleheader between the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. It was a stage of consideration indicative of the place Baltimore finds itself, chasing two American League East rivals within the hopes of nabbing the ultimate AL wild-card spot.
At this time of 12 months, for the primary time in supervisor Brandon Hyde’s tenure, each recreation feels extra like a must-win. But in a month stuffed with video games in opposition to playoff contenders, the Orioles particularly wanted to take benefit in opposition to Washington, the membership with the worst file in baseball. There shall be few different favorable matchups the remainder of the best way.
With the Orioles’ win and the Rays and Blue Jays splitting, Baltimore finds itself 5 video games again of the Rays (79-62).
“If we can close the gap, especially against Toronto this next series and take another one from the Nats here tomorrow, that puts us in a good spot,” beginning pitcher Dean Kremer mentioned.
Harvey hadn’t allowed a homer in his first 29 appearances this season, a part of a robust marketing campaign out of the Nationals’ bullpen since he was claimed in March off waivers from the San Francisco Giants. The one-time Orioles prospect pumped fastballs previous his previous teammates — however not sufficient of them.
“The dude was in my wedding,” Harvey mentioned of Mountcastle. “When he got in the box, I was like ‘Oh, here we go.’ I just couldn’t calm down.”
After Mountcastle’s shot, Hays blooped in a double to place Baltimore forward. It was Hays’ fourth hit in his final two video games, starting a breakout after managing three hits in 9 video games between Aug. 30 and Saturday.
Baltimore obtained on the board early due to a first-inning RBI single from Gunnar Henderson, and Cedric Mullins’ run-scoring double play within the fourth helped again up Kremer. But the Orioles missed out on a number of different alternatives, together with stranding the bases loaded within the second after Anthony Santander was wrung up on a slider under the zone.
Even with these breakthroughs, although, Baltimore nonetheless completed 3-for-15 with runners in scoring place whereas stranding 11 runners. It’s been that method for the Orioles of late, batting .202 with runners in scoring place in September — harking back to the .169 common in these conditions in April.
Barring Henderson, the rookie who’s 3-for-7 with runners in scoring place this month, the remainder of the workforce is 14-for-77 in September.
“We had a lot of opportunities to score a few more, and we just didn’t,” Hyde mentioned. “But fortunately we got enough.”
Kremer gave up three runs on eight hits in 5 innings. The bullpen completed the deal, with Félix Bautista recording his thirteenth save in his first look since experiencing arm fatigue after final Tuesday’s outing.
It was a much-needed win, coming after every week wherein they went 2-5. And it got here with a smile from Mountcastle on the expense of a former Orioles pitcher.
“That’s the first time I ever laughed giving up a home run,” Harvey mentioned. “I just couldn’t — it was hard to hide that emotion just because we’re so close. We talk so much trash. He looked at me and was laughing and I knew my phone was going to get blown up and I knew he was going to wear me out. I was like, ‘This is the worst-case scenario.’ I’d also been telling him I was going to hit him. I probably should have just done that.”
Around the horn
- Right-hander Rico Garcia handed by way of waivers unclaimed, the Orioles introduced Tuesday, and was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Garcia was designated for task final week when Baltimore claimed catcher Cam Gallagher off waivers from the San Diego Padres.
- Rougned Odor’s swollen proper hand felt higher Tuesday and the second baseman was obtainable off the bench, Hyde mentioned.
- Right-hander Austin Voth, in his return to Nationals Park after Washington designated him for task earlier this season, mentioned he’s in place to piggyback off right-hander Tyler Wells’ begin Wednesday in opposition to his former membership. With off days Monday and Thursday, the Orioles have the luxurious so as to add Voth to the bullpen for this sequence. “We’re giving him a little bit of a break, trying to end the season strong,” Hyde mentioned. “He’s thrown a lot of innings, he’s made a lot of starts that he hasn’t done in the last few years. You can kind of see it these last couple starts where I think this is coming at the right time.”
ORIOLES@NATIONALS
Wednesday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN, MASN2
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com