– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BALTIMORE — As much as any entity does not want to show panic amid a period of struggle, the winds of change could also serve as a catalyst that turns around fortunes, and the Baltimore Orioles’ changes before Sunday’s game, at least for one game, provided the spark that was desperately needed.
Ryan Mountcastle had a pair of two-RBI singles, with the second coming in the eighth inning and serving as the game-winning hit as the Orioles avoided a sweep and defeated the San Diego Padres 8-6 inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sunday afternoon. Cedric Mullins capped a six-run third inning for Baltimore with a two-run double, and Yennier Cano escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to earn the save.
The game-changing hits from Mountcastle and Mullins, batting fifth and seventh in the batting order, was a byproduct of the shuffle at the top of the order by Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. Colton Cowser was moved to the lead-off spot for the first time in his Major League career, while Anthony Santander was moved up to the No. 2 spot and regular No. 1 hitter Gunnar Henderson moved to third. While that trio only combined to bat 2-for-12 on the day, they drew three walks and scored half of Baltimore’s eight runs on the day.
In that six-run outburst in the third, the first six batters reached base for the Orioles. Henderson drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in the first run of the day before back-to-back run-scoring hits from Ryan O’Hearn and Mountcastle.
“For me, that was our best inning in a long, long time,” Hyde said. “Just taking walks, using the whole field, getting into good counts, not chasing and getting some middle-of-field, opposite-field hits with runners in scoring position.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 12 pictures in total.
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