BALTIMORE — If there’s a difference between what Ryan Mountcastle showed at the beginning of the season to now, the obvious distinction is in the results. But at a more minute level, manager Brandon Hyde ignores those results, focusing on how anxious and jumpy the Orioles first baseman looked early on compared with the control he now displays over the strike zone.
Perhaps there’s no better example of that difference than the fifth-inning at-bat from Mountcastle on Monday against the Kansas City Royals at Camden Yards. Faced with a 1-2 count with two outs, Mountcastle fouled off three pitches — including two knuckle curves — before laying off a slider.
Then Mountcastle sent the seventh pitch he saw into left field to score two runners, the biggest hit of Baltimore’s six-run inning. It’s moments such as those that show the strides Mountcastle — and by extension, the offense — have made this month. The Orioles scored four of those runs with two outs, leading to a big inning and resulting in a 6-1 victory to secure the series over the Royals.
