BALTIMORE—In the second half of the season, Coby Mayo has shown that he’s a genuine major league player. In the season’s first half, Mayo hit .193 with 12 home runs and 34 RBIs. Since returning from the All-Star break, Mayo’s hitting .279 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs.
On Monday, Mayo helped the Orioles break a season-long six-game losing streak with two home runs, one against left-hander Joey Cantillo and the second off right-hander Slade Cecconi in the Orioles’ 6-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians before 21,612 at Camden Yards.
“Early in the year, it’s tough,” Mayo said. “You’re trying to get off to a strong start. Everyone always wants to hit .300 the first month, you’re trying to just start off hot, because it’s easier to play when you’re hitting really good than trying to play catch-up all year. Early in the year is also cold, and I’ve never been the best cold-weather hitter. But just happy that the results have been good recently.”
The Orioles (70-75) trail Cleveland (73-72) by three games for the final wild-card berth. Toronto, which plays the Athletics Monday night trails the Guardians by a half-game.
Cantillo (9-9) was yanked after allowing five walks and two hit batters in 2 1/3 innings.
Dylan Beavers’ RBI double scored Samuel Basallo, who was hit by a pitch in the second inning.
Mayo led off the third with his 20th home run, a 426-foot shot to left. Bases-loaded walks to Blaze Alexander and Pete Alonso put the Orioles ahead 3-0.
Trevor Rogers (10-9) allowed only Steven Kwan’s leadoff single in the first through 5 2/3 innings.
Rogers, who had to wait out a lengthy delay in the top of the second when a foul tip hit home plate umpire Chris Guccione in the mask, forcing him from the game. He was replaced by first base umpire James Jean.
Cleveland scored its only run in the sixth when Brayan Rocchio reached on a bunt single with two outs. Kwan followed with a soft base hit and Jo Adell’s double scored Rocchio.
Rogers pitched a season-high 7 1/3 innings, allowing a run on six hits, striking out six without a walk. It follows his excellent outing last Wednesday in Colorado when he struck out 11 and didn’t walk a batter in 6 2/3 innings.
‘There’s nothing that I hate more than free passes, and I’d much rather give up a hit than a walk, so I’m going to continue to pound the strike zone,” Rogers said. “I’ve seen it pay off right now and continue to do that.”
Mayo’s 21st home run, a two-run home run in the sixth scored Jackson Holliday, who single, and the Orioles led 6-1.
The second half of the season, he’s shown that he’s resilient,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “I mean, going through the first half, it’s just like any young player navigating the ups and downs of the season.
“He did a great job of of doing that. Now you look up, he has two of them today, his 20th and 21st of the year. One off a lefty, which he’s been handling extremely well, and one off a righty.
“He’s getting more confidence, especially his first at bat when he drove it to right field, was a good sign for him, like we talked about, going the other way. Coby’s starting to get confident and understand what he does really well in the box.”
Nathaniel Lowe hit a three-run, pinch hit home run in the ninth against Andrew Kittredge, who was removed with two outs. Josh Walker retired pinch hitter Patrick Bailey on a grounder to second for his first career save.
Why Josh Walker? Walker is the 11th Oriole to save a game. Kittredge has the most, nine, followed by Ryan Helsley’s eight, Rico Garcia four, Anthony Nunez, Cam Sanders and Yennier Cano, each with three, Alex Hoppe, Andrew Suárez and Grant Wolfram each have one.
“Having Walker is definitely a great weapon,” Albernaz said. “It’s just cool to see how he’s really taken that role and run with it. Like we talked about this trade deadline and even throughout this season, guys in the bullpen are going to elevate their roles, elevate their floor and take advantage of opportunities.”
At 31, Walker is getting his most extended chance in the major leagues.
“I’m confident in attacking the strike zone and I’m just expecting the call to come for me and just try to stay ready every time out there,” Walker said. “It feels like the staff trusts me a little bit now, at this point, and I’m just trying to go attack guys and do my job whenever my name’s called.”
Did the long breaks in the game affect Rogers? First, Rogers had to deal with a break when Guccione left the game, and then another when the Orioles batted around in the third.
“You never want to see an umpire go down like that,” Albernaz said. “They’re kind of just a sitting duck behind there. That’s why I went out there to make sure if we can get Rog off his feet and get him in the dugout, and he did.
“But Rog has a great in-between inning routine, so we just stuck with that. Any starting pitcher will tell you when you’re sitting down watching the game because the offense is either walking or getting things going, they’d much rather see that than a quick inning and messing up their rhythm. They would much rather have the offense go out there and do their thing. So Rog, it’s all predicated on the in-between inning routine, and Rog has a great one.”
What does it mean? Realistically, the Orioles have to win the final two games of this series for a three-game sweep in order to have a chance at a possible playoff berth.
What’s the stat of the day? 16. Mayo’s 16 home runs against left-handers are the second most in Orioles history, trailing only Gary Roenicke’s 18 in 1983.
What’s the word? “It’s definitely a cool accomplishment. You don’t go into the year chasing numbers, but I think when the year plays out, you kind of see what’s going on, and it’s been really cool. It’s been a cool year for me personally, but obviously, more happy that we got the win today and a step in the right direction.”-Mayo on hitting his 20th home run.
What’s next? Brandon Young (9-3, 3.42) faces Tanner Bibee (5-15, 4.06) on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m.
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