Soak it in: Cedric Mullins hits for the cycle in Orioles’ 6-3 win over Pirates

For much of the night in which the Orioles introduced the Bird Bath Splash Zone at Camden Yards, they left their runners out to dry.

But the waterworks came in bunches in the later innings of their 6-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates, fueled by center fielder Cedric Mullins recording the seventh cycle in team history and the first since close friend and fellow Orioles outfielder Austin Hays in June of last year.

Mullins completed the cycle with a three-run home run in the eighth inning, coming with Hays at third base. He said Hays’ first words to him after were, “I can’t believe we both did it.”

“We were roommates in the minor leagues,” Hays said. “We’ve had our struggles together. We’ve had successes together, so to be able to hit for the cycle on the same team, the team that we were both drafted by and came up together through the minor leagues, it’s very special.”

Having singled in the third, Mullins first provided cause to wet the Bird Bath — with Section 86 above Camden Yards’ left field wall designated for fans to participate in the team’s water-themed celebrations — with a fifth-inning triple, as a man wearing a “Mr. Splash” Orioles jersey hosed down fans in the area on extra-base hits.

On singles, Orioles hitters face the dugout and turn an imaginary faucet. They do the sprinkler dance on doubles and triples, with teammates spraying water out of their mounts in response. When a batter homers, he returns to the dugout and drinks from the homer hose, a snake funnel that replaced last season’s home run chain.

Mullins got to partake in each celebration Friday. With the Orioles (25-13) down a run in the seventh, he prompted more water with a double, and Adley Rutschman did the same to tie the game before Ryan Mountcastle followed with a go-ahead single.

Before the seventh inning, the Orioles’ bats continued to struggle in scoring opportunities, with their lone run coming when Mountcastle led off the sixth with a triple and scored on a wild pitch. With his double, Rutschman, whose “human fountain” act in the team’s spring training talent show inspired the Orioles’ focus on hydration, delivered Baltimore’s first hit of the night in nine at-bats with a runner in scoring position. The Orioles had only five hits in their previous 57 at-bats in those situations.

Mullins’ eighth-inning home run gave them three in their final five such chances as Baltimore improved to 12-1 in series openers by taking the first game from a Pirates (21-18) team that entered as the leader in the National League Central.

The Orioles went into that frame with Mullins due up fifth. Hays opened the inning with a single, and after Gunnar Henderson walked, Jorge Mateo grounded into a double play. But Terrin Vavra’s two-out walk allowed Mullins to deposit a changeup from Duane Underwood Jr. into the right field flag court for his fifth home run.

“We were yelling before that inning started, ‘Let’s get Ced up,’” manager Brandon Hyde said. “What a special night for Cedric. What a great player.”

Mullins’ rise to the center of an Orioles team tied for baseball’s second-best record was not without ebbs and flows. He arrived near the end of Baltimore’s dismal 2018 season as the heir apparent to longtime center fielder Adam Jones, but he struggled mightily to open 2019, ending that year in Double-A. He made it back to the majors the next year in a part-time role, and that offseason, he abandoned switch-hitting to bat exclusively left-handed.

He erupted in that 2021 season, becoming the first Oriole to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season while starting the All-Star Game and winning a Silver Slugger. Although Mullins offensively took a step back in Baltimore’s 2022 breakout, he remained immensely valuable and was a Gold Glove finalist in center field.

“I don’t even know if you could put words on it,” Hays said of Mullins’ importance to the Orioles. “He’s our everyday center fielder. He’s as good as they come in center. He hits for power. He’s one of the best stolen-base threats in baseball. He’s as valuable as anybody can be to any team.”

Added Hyde: “You look back at how far he’s come as a player, it’s unbelievable. He showed you tonight why he’s an All-Star type player and why he’s so valuable to us.”

Mullins’ cycle fueled the Orioles’ 14th comeback victory of the year, tied for the most in the majors. Pittsburgh scored an unearned run in the third inning against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish when Mateo double-clutched on an infield single to shortstop to open the inning, second baseman Adam Frazier bobbled a potential double-play ball and Mateo threw home wildly attempting to cut down the runner trying to score for an error.

But it was the only run in Bradish’s six innings. In the past seven games — against the first-place Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays and Pirates — the Orioles’ starters posted a 2.04 ERA with four quality starts; the rotation managed six such outings in Baltimore’s first 32 games.

After Mountcastle evened the score, Danny Coulombe allowed a home run in the top of the seventh, but Mullins — who preceded the solo shot with a diving catch behind Coulombe — sparked the Orioles’ rally in the bottom half. Baltimore’s back-to-back doubles ignited a crowd of 25,682 and doused those in the Bird Bath.

“Mr. Splash was letting it fly,” Hays said. “Give that guy a raise out there. He was electric for the boys.”

Mullins’ home run gave Baltimore a four-run lead, meaning it was no longer a save opportunity for Félix Bautista, but after Austin Voth allowed the first three Pirates to reach and a run in the ninth, Hyde called upon his closer. Bautista struck out all three batters he faced to earn his ninth save. It was only the second time in his past seven outings he did not walk a batter.

Before the ninth, Mullins trotted onto the field alone, teammates allowing him to soak in an ovation.

“He deserved that moment,” Hays said. “It was a great atmosphere.”

Around the horn

• The Orioles optioned left-hander Drew Rom to Triple-A Norfolk after Wednesday’s game and promoted left-hander Nick Vespi ahead of Friday’s. Rom, a starting pitching prospect, was called up for the first time to provide length out of the bullpen, but he went unneeded in two games on the roster before Thursday’s off day left the bullpen fully rested. Vespi had a 2.84 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 12 2/3 innings in 12 appearances with Triple-A Norfolk.
• Hyde said infielder Ramón Urías, placed on the 10-day injured list this week with a left hamstring strain, is “doing well” but is expected to miss two to three weeks.
• After pitching rehabilitation outings on consecutive days Wednesday and Thursday, reliever Mychal Givens (left knee inflammation) is “pretty close” to being activated from IL but might have another rehab appearance.
• Reiterating a point executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias made this offseason, Hyde said the Orioles hope to avoid shutting down rookie starter Grayson Rodriguez, saying the club doesn’t have a set innings limit for their top pitching prospect. “As of right now, we don’t have any restrictions on him,” Hyde said. “If he can go eight [innings in a start], I’m gonna let him go eight.”
• After Friday’s game, Hyde drove to Syracuse to attend his daughter Aria’s college graduation. Hyde joked that bench coach Fredi González had given him a list of relievers he couldn’t use Friday so they would be available when González managed in his stead Saturday.

Pirates at Orioles

Saturday, 7:05 p.m.

TV: MASN2

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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