The Baltimore Orioles put an exclamation point on their series win over the New York Yankees with a 7-2 win on May 2, their third of the series.
Ryan Mountcastle powered his team to a 7-2 win with a 405 foot home run in bottom of the third inning on May 2 to close out the series.
It was the first of 3 home runs allowed by Carlos Rodon in the series finale.
Mountcastle’s home run was a rare one, as he got enough contact on Rodon’s slider to push it over the right field wall.
Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun called it “one of the most impressive long balls you’ll ever see.”
Carlos Rodon perfectly spots a down and in slider, and Mountcastle inside-outs it 405 feet over the right center field wall at 107 mph.
Freakish power.
New York’s ace broke it down after the game.
“I know he covers some slider down in, but I wasn’t expecting that,” Rodon told YES Network. “I didn’t think that ball was going to go out to right center the way it did. I mean, he’s got tremendous power, looks that way…He hit some balls good, I just wish I had that slider back. Probably better off bearing it than putting it in the zone there. I tip my cap to him.”
Mountcastle finished the day 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a strike out.
He got the ball rolling for the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning and they never looked back as they polished off the series win.
Mateo, McKenna Hits 1st Home Runs of 2024
In addition to the bomb from Mountcastle, Rodon gave up runs to both Jorge Mateo and Ryan McKenna, each of their firsts in 2024.
Mateo’s 425-foot hit gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
McKenna’s center field home run went 403-feet, and added onto a Baltimore barrage in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Rodon chalked the last of three home runs he gave up on May 2 to the game.
“That’s just baseball,” Rodon told YES Network. “I didn’t think it was going to run out, and it did. He got it good. He hit it 103, it’s not like he didn’t barrel it. That was a cutter down the middle, and another pitch that the ball needs to be in, not down middle like that.”
The bats got it done for the Baltimore Orioles in the final game of the series.
But the return of Kyle Bradish set the tone.
Bradish Returns in Win Over Yankees
In his return to the mound for the Orioles, Bradish pitched 4.2 innings before being pulled with two on and two outs in the fifth.
He allowed four hits, and 51 of his 84 pitches were strikes called.
Bradish’s performance is good for a 1.93 ERA, a strong outing in his debut start for 2024.
Baltimore’s pitching staff has weathered the storm to start the year.
Going into the May 1 game against the Yankees, the Orioles rank 4th in WHIP, 10th in quality starts, and 11th in ERA.
A 3-1 series win over the New York Yankees is as good a start to any for the new-look Baltimore Orioles starting rotation.
Kyle Bradish’s return will help right the ship. Fans hope the same will be said for John Means.
And with Corbin Burnes leading off as the team’s best ace in years, it should only be up from here.
Yankees’ Ace Reacts to Ryan Mountcastle’s ‘Freakish’ HR in Orioles Win