A large package addressed to Jackson Holliday sat outside the Orioles’ clubhouse before their game Saturday afternoon.
Had Brandon Hyde known the powers it contained, he surely would have started the youngster. Or perhaps he did know of the otherworldly abilities its contents bestow upon Holliday, and the Orioles manager was biding his time, waiting for exactly the right moment.
Either way, Holliday came through in the clutch, propelling the Orioles to a 3-2 win over the Astros and adding another chapter to the equally hilarious and mystifying story between baseball’s top prospect and his favorite arcade game. Holliday’s pinch-hit, three-run double in the sixth was enough for starter Albert Suárez and the bullpen to give Baltimore a second straight thrilling victory.
The package contained the Golden Tee Golf arcade game that Holliday frequently played at his home in Oklahoma (yes, the Holliday family has one in their house) and during his time with Triple-A Norfolk. But it wasn’t until the Orioles’ series in Cleveland earlier this month — in which he went 6-for-13 with Golden Tee Golf in the Guardians’ visiting clubhouse — that his relationship and skill at the game gained notoriety.
After his first career two-hit game against Cleveland, Holliday joked it was because he was playing the arcade game earlier in the day.
“I made a hole-in-one on a par-5 today, so I think that was a guaranteed two hits,” he joked earlier this month. “I’m going to try to do that tomorrow as well,” which he did.
After frequent chatter online about his enjoyment of the game, the Golden Tee Golf company shipped one to Holliday to perhaps play at Oriole Park, and it arrived Saturday.
“Yeah, who knows?” Holliday said after the win about whether the game is still his good-luck charm. “I think [strength coach] Trey [Wiedman] said they were putting it in when I was up to bat, so I guess so.”
Coincidentally, Holliday’s dad, seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, texted his son that he was playing the game at their house in Stillwater, Oklahoma, earlier in the day.
“I guess he’s going to be stuck there for three hours a night,” the younger Holliday joked.
But recently, the 20-year-old rookie hadn’t been hitting like he was in Cleveland. Amid an 0-for-20 skid, Hyde sat the second baseman against Framber Valdez, one of baseball’s best left-handed starting pitchers.
Stymied for much of the afternoon, the Orioles loaded the bases against Valdez in the sixth thanks in large part to Colton Cowser hustling down the first base line to beat out a routine grounder. The Astros brought in right-handed reliever and former Oriole Tayler Scott, and Hyde countered by pinch hitting Holliday — perhaps the only option with Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) and Cedric Mullins (quad) banged up — for newcomer Emmanuel Rivera.
Holliday, powered by the roaring 35,302 fans on their feet at Camden Yards and perhaps the excitement of having Golden Tee back in his life, smoked the first pitch he saw into the right-center field gap to clear the bases.
“Just took a shot with Jackson there,” Hyde said. “Jackson came through in a big way. What a huge hit for us. Great swing. Totally under control. Just an awesome offensive inning from us and great hit by him.”
Holliday is hitting .500 with a whopping 1.445 OPS when in the presence of a Golden Tee, and just .130 with a .425 OPS when not.
“Three RBIs in that big of a spot is — it’s pretty awesome,” Holliday said. “0-for-20, to be able to kind of end it with that is special.”
Does the weekend count as a Holliday? pic.twitter.com/epc332VjLQ
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 24, 2024
The bases-loaded hit was the second in as many days for Baltimore after Anthony Santander’s eighth-inning grand slam lifted the club to a comeback victory Friday night. The Orioles have 28 such wins this season, but they’ve been harder to come by over the past two months as the club has struggled to recapture the magic they had this spring and last season.
“I think this is a testament to the kind of team we have in here — a team that battles and competes. We’re never out of it,” Holliday said. “I think it’s real good momentum going into these next few weeks.”
Suárez delivered another solid start, allowing two solo home runs in 5 2/3 innings, and relievers Keegan Akin (3-0), Yennier Cano and Seranthony Domínguez finished it off with a combined 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Domínguez earned another save, his second straight after struggling earlier in the week against the New York Mets.
Baltimore is 76-55 and only a half-game back of the New York Yankees, who lost 9-2 to the Colorado Rockies earlier in the day, for first place in the American League East.
“We’ve kind of been scuffing a little bit so to get two wins in a row is obviously very helpful to build momentum,” Holliday said.
The first and last batters Suárez faced homered, but the journeyman right-hander mostly got the better of the 20 in between. Suárez kept his ERA at a rotation-best 3.18, allowing only four hits and two walks while striking out three.
Jose Altuve gave the AL West-leading Astros (69-60) a 1-0 lead with his leadoff homer over Camden Yards’ left field wall, ending Suárez’s 17 2/3-inning scoreless streak. Jeremy Peña put Houston up 2-0 with another wall-defying solo shot with two outs in the sixth. Suárez has surrendered three or fewer runs in 14 of his 18 starts this season, including an AL-best eight scoreless.
“Feels good,” Suárez said on his recent success. “Feels good because I’m helping the team win, and that’s the main goal.”
Valdez (13-6) ran into trouble in the sixth when Gunnar Henderson smacked a one-out single and Eloy Jiménez hit an opposite-field single to bring up Cowser. Statcast gave Cowser’s 72.1 mph grounder just a 9% hit probability, but first baseman Jon Singleton didn’t charge it hard enough and Valdez didn’t cover the bag. Cowser’s left hand on his head-first slide beat Singleton’s foot, extending the inning, bouncing Valdez and bringing up Holliday.
“Singleton is a big guy. I didn’t feel like going head on with him,” Cowser joked. “It’s kind of an unconventional thing to do, you aren’t really taught to do that. But instincts just took over.”
“Unbelievable hustle,” Hyde said. “He sniffed that hit the whole way and awesome, awesome slide.”
Holliday was 6-for-56 (.107) against offspeed offerings — and hitless against splitters — before his 105.9 mph liner off Scott’s first-pitch splitter.
“Jackson is a great kid, great approach,” Cowser said. “He’s been staying aggressive, and I’m glad he stayed aggressive in that situation.”
The 0-for-20 slump didn’t resemble the one he had in April when he opened his career 2-for-34, but Holliday joked that his previous struggles gave him valuable “experience” to break out of his current one.
“Well, I’ve been here before,” he quipped.
The Orioles have won consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 14-15. A win Sunday would give them their first three-game winning streak (not including victories separated by the All-Star break) since June 27-29.
Baltimore has been a .500 team for the past 10 weeks, and Hyde hopes their past two triumphs, featuring clutch hits and energizing moments, will serve as a catalyst for more.
“We have been missing the big hit,” Hyde said. “Hopefully Santander’s hit last night, Jackson’s hit today … we’ve been missing that, and hopefully we can continue to do that.”
Around the horn
• The club officially inducted three former Orioles into its Hall of Fame before the game: outfielder Nick Markakis, hitting coach Terry Crowley and scout Dick Bowie. Many former Orioles were in attendance, including Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Brian Roberts, Jim Palmer, Al Bumbry, Rick Dempsey and Eddie Murray.
• Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles announced. Zimmermann, a Baltimore-area native, was designated for assignment Thursday.
Astros at Orioles
Sunday, 7:10 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM