BALTIMORE -- Ryan Mountcastle homered in his first at-bat since late May one batter after Adley Rutschman connected for a two-run shot, and the Orioles completed a 3-2 victory over the Athletics in Friday night’s series opener at Camden Yards.
Mountcastle’s first-inning shot off J.T. Ginn (2-4) to dead center was his first since April 30, a month before he landed on the IL with a hamstring strain. He finished 1-for-3 as a DH after returning to a lineup far different than the one he departed; The O’s dealt Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano to the Padres at the Trade Deadline, and sent Cedric Mullins to the Mets.
Unlike the other veteran bats dealt, Mountcastle has one more year of team control, and his lengthy IL stint made him unlikely to fetch much on the trade market anyway.
And with GM Mike Elias making clear the club intends to try to contend again in 2026 as their 2025 hopes continue to fade, he could yet be a meaningful part of a deep Baltimore playoff run that failed to materialize despite postseason appearances in 2023 and 2024.
“He’s a really good hitter,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “You go back a few years, he hit 30-something homers. He has not done that probably at the rate he would like the past couple years, but I do know there were some swing adjustments while he was on the IL and had some time to think. And I kind of have a really good feeling about him these last couple months.”
The exact homer number was 33 during his 2021 rookie season, and the right-handed slugger still hit 22 in 2022 despite the Orioles’ decision to drastically deepen the dimensions in left field. But he went deep only 18 times in 2023 and 13 in 2024, and his spring slump in 2025 ruined the first chance to see whether the club’s decision to readjust again to more moderate dimensions in left would pay off.
Mountcastle originally went on the IL on May 31 after suffering a right hamstring strain, but was moved to the 60-day IL on June 23. In nine games of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk, Mountcastle went 12-for-31 with three home runs.
“Nothing too crazy, I just did whatever felt comfortable,” Mountcastle said of any swing tweaks. “I felt good down there. I felt like I was seeing the ball well. And I brought it in today.”
Tomoyuki Sugano (9-5) allowed a run on five hits over seven strong innings in his lengthiest outing since going seven frames in a win at the Mariners on June 3. Despite Rutschman and Mountcastle’s back-to-back power show, the Orioles needed every bit of that effort, scratching out only one other hit off McGinn and three A’s relievers.
Luis Urías’ sacrifice fly plated the first Athletics run in the fifth, and Tyler Soderstrom’s single off Yennier Cano closed the deficit to one in the eighth. With Félix Bautista (right shoulder) one of the latest additions to the Orioles’ sizable injury carousel this season, Keegan Akin worked the ninth for his second save.
“If feels like we stole one,” Mansolino admitted. “I mean, the way that thing kind of was going. … The Ginn guy that was pitching, that stuff was nasty.”
For the remainder of this season, Mountcastle appears likely to DH in the majority of games while Coby Mayo -- who was MLB Pipeline’s 12th overall prospect when he was called up in May -- will continue to get most of the action at first base.
“Listen, Mounty is a two-time Gold Glove finalist. We know this guy can really play defense,” Mansolino said pregame. “I do want to get him out there and keep him in shape and keep him sharp. But without a doubt, the lion’s share of first base will go to Coby, just because we are trying to develop the kid. It’s a real thing right now.”
“He’s not super new to the position, but still learning," Mountcastle said. "So yeah, whatever they want me to do, I’m willing to do it and get him some more reps over there. Everything will be good for him.”