The Baltimore Orioles continued their hot start to the season last night, crushing the AL East rival Toronto Blue Jays 11-4. While the Orioles are now 8-3, including being 5-1 against Toronto, the biggest story from last night was Trey Mancini, his incredible hot streak and the MLB record he tied.
The Louisville Slugger C243 is magical
Trey Mancini hit a three-run home in the 6th inning to blow open the game for the Baltimore Orioles, giving them a 4-0 lead. In the 8th inning, with the team already up 6-1, Mancini hit a solo home run 422 feet to center to add to the lead.
In his five at-bats last night, Mancini was 3 for 5 with 4 RBIs, two runs scored and two home runs.
Mancini's teammates clearly noticed that his bat was literally hot that night. Three batters after Mancini's second home run, left fielder Craig Gentry grabbed one of Mancini's Louisville Slugger C243's and hit his own two-run blast in the 8th inning. Then three batters after Gentry, third baseman Manny Machado also grabbed one of the bats and also hit a two-run blast in the 8th inning. After the game, Orioles manager Buck Showalter summed it up by saying, "It must be Wonderboy. I have never seen that before", referencing the 1952 baseball novel 'The Natural.'
Mancini makes history
Trey Mancini, who played his college ball at Notre Dame, also made some MLB history last night.
Between his call-up last September and the start of this season, he has hit seven home runs. That ties him with Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Dino Restelli (1949) and Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (2016) for the most home runs in the first 12 games of a career.
In seven games this season Mancini is batting .364 in 22 at-bats.
He has five runs, eight hits, one double, four home runs and 9 RBIs. His on-base percentage (OBP) is .417, his slugging percentage (SLG) is .955, and his on-base plus slugging (OPS) is 1.372.
What's next for the Orioles and Mancini
Despite Trey Mancini's incredible start, he has only played in seven of the team's eleven possible games so far due to a roster crunch on the Baltimore Orioles roster.
In his seven games, he has played a number of positions, including both corner outfield spots, designated hitter, pinch hitter and his normal position at first base.
It is unknown if Mancini will be in the Orioles' lineup for the next three games since they play an interleague series against the Cincinnati Reds and will lose the DH spot. This three-game road stop will also be the first time this season the Orioles play outside the AL East.
