Center fielder Cedric Mullins has been one of the few bright spots in an Orioles lineup that has been floundering since the All-Star break.
Mullins hit a pair of home runs on Sept. 10 to lead the Orioles to a 5-3 win. It was the fifth multi-homer game in Mullins’ career but his first since June 19, 2021, against the Toronto Blue Jays.
After a sluggish start to the season, Mullins is batting .274/.396/.508 with eight home runs and 11 stolen bases in 47 games since the All-Star break. Manager Brandon Hyde moved Mullins to second in the lineup and dropped struggling catcher Adley Rutschman down to fifth.
“Just putting quality at-bats together. I think that’s been the main focus,” Mullins told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “Focusing on getting on base, creating some havoc on the bases and leading to some power as well.”
Mullins has also been solid defensively and made several highlight-reel catches in center field. He also has a team-leading 27 stolen bases on the season.
However, it just has not been enough to spark the Orioles, who have played under .500 for the past two months. Nevertheless, Hyde will be hard-pressed to take Mullins out of the No. 2 spot in the lineup against right-handed pitching with the way the rest of the hitters are performing.
When Will The Offense Wake Up?
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde says many of the players in the lineup are pressing, considering not much is working for the club in the final month of the regular season.
The Orioles are 5-5 in their last 10 games and trail the first-place Yankees by two games in the American League East. Since Sept. 1, the Orioles are 21-for-94 (.233 average) with runners in scoring position, compared to .287 last season when they won 101 games. They’re hitting .237/.327/.380 as a club in all situations during that time.
Hyde has tried just about everything to get the offense going, from tinkering with the lineup to pinch-hitting late in the game.
Not much has worked.
“We are taking some frustrated at-bats right now and our guys just need to simplify their process a little bit and do what they do well,” Hyde said. “And not try to do too much. I think we’re a swing or two away from that happening. We’re just not being consistent with it right now.”
The Orioles have hit 217 home runs this season, second in the majors behind the Yankees. However, a feast-or famine approach has hampered the Orioles, as they have depended heavily on homers to score runs.
Injuries have also played a part in the struggles, with infielders Jorge Mateo, Ryan Mountcastle, Ramón Urías and Jordan Westburg on the injured list.
“I think injuries honestly have played a toll,” Hyde said. “When you have guys that would normally be in your lineup that aren’t, people try to make up for it. We’re not scoring runs the way we did the first half or last year. When you don’t have a veteran group, guys just try to do a little bit more than maybe they’re capable of at times. And over time that leads to maybe some numbers you wish you would put up that you didn’t.”
Still, the Orioles are in good shape to make the postseason and Hyde is hopeful the offense will start producing at a key time.
“We’ll see what we’re made of here these last few weeks,” the skipper said.
A Look Ahead
After a much-needed day off, the Orioles begin a three-game road series against the improved Detroit Tigers.
Detroit is 75-71 and just three games out of the final wild-card spot, so this is a critical series for both teams. The Orioles have just 15 regular-season games left.
Hyde is still finalizing his rotation for the series.
After the Orioles play Detroit, they return home from three games against the San Francisco Giants and a rematch with the Tigers. The Orioles then play a critical three-game set with the New York Yankees on Sept. 24-26 that could decide the American League East.
The Orioles close out the regular season against another playoff-caliber team, the Minnesota Twins, on the road.
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