You can’t tell the story of the 2024 Baltimore Orioles without mentioning the timeliness of Anthony Santander‘s bat. His 42nd home run of the season snapped a three-game losing streak, and eliminated the San Francisco Giants from postseason contention.
In the ninth inning of a 3-3 game, Santander sent an 84.4 mph slider from Ryan Walker 390-feet to win the game for the Orioles.
the sweetest potato
“That’s a reminder of who we are,” Santander said via interpreter Brandon Quinones, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports. “Close game, we stay positive, we stay together. … That’s no pressure at all. That’s baseball.”
It’s the third walk-off home run of Santander’s career, and arguably the biggest one for Baltimore, who was 3-9 in their previous 12 games entering the game against San Francisco.
At 85-68, the Orioles are in the top Wild Card spot in the American League, and three games ahead of the Kansas City Royals in the second spot. There are nine games to go.
Jackson Holliday Predicted Anthony Santander’s HR
A much-needed win for Baltimore was also a much-needed performance for Jackson Holliday, who delivered a 2-run single in the bottom of the fourth to help the Orioles take a 3-2 lead.
That’ll play.
Holliday entered the game 2-23 over his last 10, batting .087 in that span. He told reporters postgame that the latest adjustment to his approach has been targeting line drives.
“I think the main focus that I’ve been working on lately is just trying to hit line drives with every pitch,” Holliday said on September 19 after the win. “It’s something (offensive strategy coach Cody) Asche and I have been talking about and past two games and I’ve been able to do that. So, no different, just trying to hit a line drive up the middle and got a changeup that I saw early and I was able to stay through it.”
Holliday also told reporters that he predicted Santander’s walk-off homer, when talking with teammate Ryan O’Hearn in the dugout.
“Yeah, I told (Ryan) O’Hearn that I thought he was going to hit a homer,” Holliday continued. “I’ve seen it. I know kind of how he thinks and kind of his approach, and I thought he was going to hit a slider for a homer and, I mean, it was pretty amazing that he did. That guy has got pretty good stuff on the mound. So, it was awesome for him to kind of end it there.”
Zach Eflin: ‘Just A Fun Win’
Zach Eflin has looked the lone prize from the Orioles’ wheeling and dealing at the trade deadline. He’s registered a 2.31 ERA in 8 games with Baltimore, who acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays on July 26.
Eflin called the win over the Giants a fun one.
“It was just a fun win,” Eflin told reporters on September 19, according to Kubatko. “Looking around the field, you have Jackson making a bunch of really good plays, you have Heston making a bunch of good plays. Getting guys over when we need to. Scoring, obviously. Tony late in the game doing his thing. It was a lot of fun today.”
Eflin pitched six innings against San Francisco, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, and throwing 5 strikeouts. His only regret was not setting the tone early with more strikes.
“I felt good,” Eflin continued, according to Kubatko. “Really wish I would have thrown more first-pitch strikes. I’m getting really good at 1-0 counts right now, which is not good. But Adley did a great job behind the dish of really kind of keeping us on the same page, and he called a great game. But really, it took all 28 of us today.”
According to Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun, Eflin’s 2.31 ERA through eight starts, is the second-best mark in team history.
Lowest ERA in Orioles history by a pitcher over his first eight starts with the team:
1. Jimmy Key, 1.82 (1997)
2. Zach Eflin, 2.31 (2024)
3. Albert Suárez, 2.35 (2024)
Eflin called the win over San Francisco “a breath of fresh air,” according to Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun.
His play since being acquired at the trade deadline has been the same for an Orioles team who is 6-2 in his starts.
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Anthony Santander Sounds Off After Walk-Off HR vs Giants