Orioles match win total from last season
Cedric Mullins homered leading off Baltimore’s first game without Trey Mancini, Anthony Santander extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI single and the Orioles matched their 2021 win total with a 7-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday night.
Hours after the Orioles traded their longest-tenured player and fan favorite, with Mancini going to Houston in a three-team deal, they won their 52nd game to get back over .500 and within 2½ games of the American League’s final wild-card spot.
Baltimore was 52-110 last season.
“None of what we’ve accomplished is possible without him, and not necessarily on the field,” Orioles starter Spenser Watkins said. “Of course having him on the field is a great attribute. But what he’s instilled in all of us in the clubhouse is priceless. He is a leader, a teammate, a friend . ... There’s a lasting impression for sure.”
Watkins (4-1) struck out five without a walk over six innings. The only run allowed by the righthander was on a solo homer by Corey Seager in the sixth inning.
“Happy with how we responded after a tough day,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.
Mancini’s locker was empty after the game, but he and his Orioles teammates spent time beforehand sharing their goodbyes in what was an emotional time.
“Trey did such a good job of just individually addressing each guy and thanking them for our efforts for him. And we got to express our thanks for his efforts towards us,” Watkins said. “A happy, a sad two hours. I mean, we went through the whole rigmarole . ... It was tough, but it was cool to come out and get a win.”
Seager’s 24th homer came after he missed three games because of a contusion after fouling a ball off
his lower right leg last Thursday.
Rangers starter Jon Gray (7-6) exited with the bases loaded and one out in the second inning because of discomfort on his left side.
Santander hit a high popup to shallow right on the first pitch thrown by reliever Jose Leclerc, and the ball dropped between two defenders to drive in a run. Ryan Mountcastle followed with another RBI single for a 4-0 lead, and he added an RBI double in the fourth.
Mullins put the Orioles ahead to stay with his 14th career leadoff homer, and third time this season.
Former Norfolk Tide Terrin Vavra opened the Orioles second with an infield single for his first career hit.
Keegan Akin worked three innings for his second save of the season. The lefty struck out three without a walk while facing 10 batters.
Mets 7, Nationals 3: Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor homered, Max Scherzer defeated his former team and New York beat host Washington for its seventh consecutive victory.
Washington slugger Juan Soto homered off Scherzer in what turned out to be his final game with the Nationals. He walked in his other three plate appearances.
New York had more than enough to handle Patrick Corbin (4-15) and the Nationals. Jeff McNeil, Tomás Nido and Starling Marte all had RBI singles in the second, and Alonso lined his 27th homer into the visitors’ bullpen in left field an inning later.
Alonso’s homer was the fifth of his career against Corbin, his most against any pitcher. He is a .382 lifetime hitter (13 for 34) against the left-hander.
Scherzer (7-2) won two Cy Young Awards with Washington, made six All-Star appearances in seven seasons and helped the Nationals win the 2019 World Series before getting dealt to the Dodgers at last year’s trade deadline.