Mullins robs Stanton of 300th career homer
Entertaining catch highlights O’s loss; Núñez breaks out of slump
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first 14 games in the major leagues have included their share of highlights, and in the Orioles’ 10-3 Game 1 loss to the New York Yankees, he added to that list with a magnificent home-runrobbing catch.
For Players’ Weekend this series, Mullins is wearing “The Entertainer” on the back of his jersey, a clever spin on the name of comedian Cedric the Entertainer. And Mullins’ catch was the Orioles’ most enthralling play of the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader. With two outs in the sixth inning, Giancarlo Stanton lifted a
changeup deep to center field. Mullins tracked it down to the warning track, timed a leaping catch at the wall, reached over and brought the ball back in.
“I knew it had a lot of air to it,” Mullins said. “I gave myself some time to get to the wall and kind of judge whether or not I had to make a jump for it.”
The Orioles struggled to keep the ball in the yard in Saturday’s first game, but Mullins took away what would have been Stanton’s 300th career home run.
Asked to gauge the difficulty off the catch, Mullins said: “I honestly couldn’t say. Just being able to make a play on it, robbing a home run, it doesn’t happen too often. It’s pretty fun.”
Mullins had his second three-hit game — he also had three hits in his major league debut — with an RBI single in the ninth, raising his average to .333 entering the doubleheader’s second game. Núñez shines with bat, glove: Orioles third baseman broke out of his recent slump with a big afternoon in Saturday’s 10-3 loss to the New York Yankees, collecting three hits including a two-run single that temporarily gave his team an early lead.
Despite not having a hit in 11 at-bats entering Saturday, a stretch that dropped his average to .227, Núñez’s prowess at the plate was hardly in question since he joined the Orioles in roster spot after the All-Star break. He hit .289 with an .804 OPS at Triple-A Norfolk before he was promoted, but as the Orioles evaluate Núñez, 24, one of their youngest position players on the roster in the second half of the season, it’s the other half of his game that is getting attention.
“Obviously, they pitch him in a lot,” manager Buck Showalter said. “When he stays out over the plate and hits the ball the other way like he did … He’s one of the few guys who got through the high fastball from today. He didn’t see another the whole day. The catcher and the pitcher notice that.
“The pleasant thing about him today — well, what was good to see — was the great play he made glove-side. He’s been playing better at third base, and his arm, he had a good feed on a double play to put it in the square that you need to do. Those are the two things I take out of the game where he’s concerned.”
Núñez dove to his left to snag a ground ball from in the second inning that kicked off the only 1-2-3 inning for starter
and also began a 5-4-3 double play to end the fifth inning for reliever Blister business: Showalter lauded head athletic trainer and his athletic staff for helping right-hander control a blister problem on his throwing hand. “It’s things like that that you really don’t talk about during the course of the year and then you see guys go on the [disabled list] with a blister, and you realize there are differences in the way they are handled,” Showalter said. Around the horn: Rookie catcher started Saturday’s first game, drawing uncommon day-after-night duty behind the plate. “He’s had a lot of time off,” Showalter said. “It fits him. … and work well together. … There’s about three other reasons that I won’t talk about publicly.” ... Rule 5 pick
(shoulder) has resumed throwing in Sarasota, Fla.