First Anthony Santander robbed a home run, sending Mariners star Julio Rodríguez back to his dugout in the first inning.
Then Santander hit one to tie the game in the third inning, catapulting the Orioles to a 3-2 win over the Mariners and a series victory.
“It depends,” Santander said with a big smile when asked which was more fun. “It all depends on the situation.”
It’s all just another day at work for Santander, who has five home runs in the past six games. He had five hits in a 24-hour span between Saturday’s 4 p.m. start and Sunday’s matinee, providing a spark in both games for the Orioles.
“He was ready to play today and made a big play for us early,” manager Brandon Hyde said.
This has all just been bubbling under the surface for Santander. His power took time to kick in this season. He did not hit his first home run until his 15th game of the season and totaled only two in April. He started to heat up in May, hitting three in a two-game span and adding another pair of back-to-back jacks later that month.
Santander, though, didn’t hit a home run for the first 14 games of June, his longest dry spell since that first stretch of the season.
But, for Santander, when it rains, it pours.
“He’s way more on time with the fastball now, and he’s buying himself breaking balls on the plate, staying on the ball so well,” Hyde said. “He has a ton of confidence right now, as he should, and is getting huge hits for us.”
His current streak started in Chicago, helping the Orioles get one win on what otherwise would have been a dismal trip to Wrigley. Santander added another in Tampa in an important win over a division foe, and his long ball Saturday ended up being crucial as the Orioles went on to win in extra innings.
Santander’s home run Sunday — his team-leading 14th — was a two-run blast to tie the Mariners. The Orioles took the lead two innings later, when Anthony Bemboom, filling in for the injured James McCann and playing in place of the resting Adley Rutschman, got his first hit in a major league game since May 12, 2022. Bemboom ended the play on second, and Jorge Mateo went from first to home thanks to a Mariners error.
And, although Santander’s day overshadowed that of Kyle Bradish, the starting pitcher’s performance was also headline worthy. Bradish’s one blemish came in the second, when he allowed a double to Eugenio Suárez and a Eutaw Street home run to Cal Raleigh.
Bradish allowed only two more baserunners, both via walks, as he made it through seven innings for the second time this season. He got there thanks to a little trust from his skipper. With two outs in the seventh, Bradish walked Jarred Kelenic to bring the potentially winning run to the plate. Bradish’s pitch count was already over 100, but Hyde kept his starter in.
The strategy worked. Bradish got Suárez to pop out, ending the inning and saving a taxed bullpen from having to do additional work.
“Thanks to him to let me finish the seventh inning,” Bradish said of Hyde’s decision. “Being able to finish that seventh means a lot.”
Félix Bautista got his 21st save of the season, breaking out a 102.5 mph fastball, his fastest pitch of the season.
