Ryan Mountcastle’s first at-bat Tuesday was similar to many from his 2022 season.
The first baseman put an excellent swing on the ball, roping the pitch 102.3 mph to the warning track in center field, only for it to be caught by Texas Rangers center fielder Adolis García. The unlucky out — Statcast had the batted ball with an expected batting average of .670 — was an all-too-common occurrence for Mountcastle during his average 2022 campaign.
That type of at-bat didn’t define Mountcastle’s night, though, as the Orioles’ No. 3 batter hit a three-run home run in the second inning to propel Baltimore to a 7-2 win over the Rangers. The blast came on a fastball at the top of the strike zone from Rangers left-handed starter Andrew Heaney, which Mountcastle hit off the right field foul pole.
“That was really impressive by Mountcastle, showing that opposite-field power,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Great to see [Mountcastle] go the other way. Good things always happen when he does.”
Mountcastle recorded an exit velocity of 91.8 mph or faster in each of his five at-bats. He also doubled, grounded out and lined out, ending his night 2-for-5 at the plate a day after going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
“After yesterday, I was just happy to put one in play,” Mountcastle joked when asked about his first-inning flyout.
“Yesterday happens,” he added. “But came back today and put some good swings on it and took some tough pitches, too.”
The two-out long ball in the second put the Orioles (3-2) up 5-0 to give starting pitcher Kyle Gibson a cushion that he didn’t end up needing. The veteran pitched seven efficient innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
“That was a fun game,” said Gibson, who pitched for the Rangers in 2020 and the first half of 2021. “[Catcher] Adley [Rutschman] and I were on the same page for probably 98% of the pitches. Just didn’t shake a whole lot, and we had a lot of fun.”
The only blemishes for Gibson were the two solo home runs he allowed — one to García in the second and the other to Nathaniel Lowe in the sixth. Otherwise, the 35-year-old looked like someone in his 11th season as a big league starter.
“That was a big-time start on the road against a good offense,” Hyde said. “Knowing kind of where we are, what the last series took out of our pitching staff, it was a true veteran start.”
Gibson (2-0) struck out batters on his four-seam fastball, changeup and sweeper, including striking out the side in the seventh. He also displayed improved velocity over his 91.2 mph average in his first start of the season and his 92.0 mph average last season, sitting 93-94 mph and touching 95.1 mph on his four-seamer.
“I don’t know if I’ll be 94-95 [mph] every time out, but I guess it is nice to know that at 35 you’ve still got that in the tank every now and then,” Gibson said, adding that he believes changes to his delivery during his bullpen session Sunday translated to his start. “We sat on the bench and when I can see that and when I know that, it obviously changes my game plan a little bit. Probably not throwing some of those heaters in a time when it’s 91-92 [mph], but if I know I can reach back and have a little extra hop it allows me to use that a little bit more.”
Gibson, the club’s No. 1 starter, was originally scheduled to take the ball Wednesday after starting opening day against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. But Kyle Bradish’s foot injury Monday night altered Hyde’s plans.
Tyler Wells, who was slated to start Tuesday, entered in relief Monday and pitched five no-hit innings to lead the Orioles to a 2-0 win. Gibson was then pushed up to start Tuesday on regular rest, and his seven innings on just 88 pitches provided exactly what the Orioles needed after the club’s starters amassed just 13 2/3 innings in their first four contests.
“I don’t think we can say enough about what Tyler Wells did for this team last night,” said Gibson, who used his first answer during his postgame interview to praise Wells rather than talk about his own start.
Grayson Rodriguez, the Orioles’ top pitching prospect, is reportedly being promoted to start Wednesday and make his major league debut in his home state of Texas.
Before Mountcastle’s home run, the Orioles’ first two runs in the second came via an RBI single from Ryan McKenna and a left-on-left RBI double from Cedric Mullins. Jorge Mateo followed Mountcastle’s lead in the third with a two-run blast of his own for Baltimore’s fifth straight two-homer game to open the season. Mateo, who also clobbered a 433-foot homer Monday, deposited a low breaking ball from Heaney 392 feet over the left field fence.
“When [Mateo] stays closed and stays on the baseball, he can do a lot of things,” Hyde said. “He’s a real threat in so many different ways.”
Logan Gillaspie and Cionel Pérez followed Gibson and combined to pitch two innings of shutout relief.
Orioles at Rangers
Wednesday, 2:05 p.m.
TV: MASN2
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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