SARASOTA, Fla. — Only the New York Yankees hit more home runs than the Orioles in 2024, edging out Baltimore’s young lineup by a mere two long balls for the MLB lead. With Tyler O’Neill now in the fold and catching prospect Samuel Basallo inching closer to his debut, the Orioles are as good a threat as any team to unseat New York from the top spot this season.
O’Neill and Basallo both crushed long home runs to lead the Orioles (3-2) to an 11-8 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday afternoon. O’Neill’s three-run shot in the bottom of the second cleared the left field concourse and made it out of Ed Smith Stadium entirely, bouncing toward the parking lot beyond the ballpark. His swing capped a seven-run inning that put Baltimore in control of the game early.
“Honestly, I’m just trying to be simple with my approach up there,” O’Neill said. “Runners in scoring positions so I’m really just trying to hit a line drive out there. Caught that one out in front a little bit so it was good to get the first one out of the way and try and do some good work tomorrow and see where we get to.”
The 29-year-old is pleased with the state of his swing at this stage of camp after waiting a few games before making it into the Orioles’ lineup for a Grapefruit League game. He said in years past that he’s gotten “a little spinny” in his swing, so the first few weeks of camp are all about making sure his mechanics are putting him in position to drive the ball to all fields.
Basallo, 20, put his power upside on display with a solo homer to right-center field in the seventh, driving a long fly ball well over the wall past the outfield scoreboard. The consensus top-15 prospect in baseball has turned heads in camp with his loud batting practice sessions, but his home run Thursday was his first in an Orioles uniform.
“It’s probably in my top three now,” Basallo said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones of the home run, which bounced into the outfield of one of the back fields beyond the center field wall. “Honestly, still can’t believe it.”
Also joining the homer parade was third baseman Ramón Urías, who contributed to that second-inning rally with a two-run blast. Outfielders Ramón Laureano and Cedric Mullins chipped in with RBIs and shortstop Luis Vázquez, who replaced Gunnar Henderson in the second inning after the star infielder left the game with lower right side discomfort, drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Rodriguez aiming high
Making his first start of the spring, Grayson Rodriguez pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings against Toronto before hitting his pitch limit of 25. He allowed one runner on a hit-by-pitch but otherwise looked sharp with a pair of strikeouts.
Rodriguez left the outing pleased with how his fastball and changeup came out of his hand and was happy that his lone sweeper — a new pitch he’s working on this spring — induced a “bad swing” from Blue Jays second baseman David Schneider. He also had better control of his velocity after being unable to reign in his intensity during his first spring start last year.
“This being my third, fourth big league spring training, it’s about getting ready, not trying to prove anything,” Rodriguez said. “I joke around, last spring training I think I hit 100 [mph] in my first outing, and my back was a little sore after that and this year is just all about getting in a rhythm, getting ready, making sure your body feels good for the season.”
In addition to his new pitch, Rodriguez is also getting used to a new delivery this spring. After finishing last season on the injured list with a lat/teres strain — an injury he’s suffered twice in the past three years — the right-hander has modified his mechanics to put less stress on the muscles by starting his throwing motion from a higher position.
“I want to take a lot of the load out of my lat,” Rodriguez said. “Used to, I kind of brought the ball down a little bit further. Right now, I’m working on keeping the arm up and utilizing the [scapular muscle] more to take that pressure off the lat.”
Rodriguez, 25, posted a 3.86 ERA with 130 strikeouts in 20 starts last season, flashing the upside of a frontline starter before his season ended in late July. If he can stay healthy and take another step forward in Year 3 of his MLB career, Rodriguez has the potential to be the ace the Orioles are lacking at the top of their rotation.
Around the horn
• Jordan Westburg is receiving treatment for lower-back soreness he felt crop up during a batting practice session in the cages, manager Brandon Hyde announced Thursday morning. The third baseman won’t swing a bat for another day or two but is expected to rejoin the lineup shortly thereafter.
• Closer Félix Bautista threw his second live bullpen session of the spring Thursday, throwing 25 pitches to the alternating Heston Kjerstad and Gary Sánchez. Kjerstad went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts against him while Sánchez finished 0-for-3 with a strikeout looking. Hyde expects Bautista to get around seven appearances between the back fields and spring training games before opening day.
• In addition to launching his first spring home run, Basallo also made his first appearance at first base after playing catcher against the Philadelphia Phillies earlier this week. Basallo showed off his athleticism, stretching to catch an errant throw but also recorded an error on a routine ground ball that allowed a run to score. He said through Quinones that he’s feeling “really comfortable” at the position and “confident that next time I go out there and play first I’ll do better.”
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