Friday night at Camden Yards, the Baltimore Orioles mounted a late-inning comeback against the Pittsburgh Pirates thanks to leadoff hitter Cedric Mullins. Mullins went 4 for 5 and hit for the cycle in the 6-3 win (box score). He scoring the game-tying run in the seventh after the double, then broke the game open with an eighth-inning three-run home run.
Mullins opened his evening with a first-inning fly out against Johan Oviedo. He then singled against Oviedo in the third, tripled off him in the fifth, doubled off Jose Hernandez in the seventh, then homered against Duane Underwood Jr. in the eighth. To the action footage:
Mullins is the second player to hit for the cycle this season, joining Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins. That was the first cycle in Marlins franchise history.
The cycle is the seventh in Orioles history and the first since Austin Hays last June. Jonathan Villar (2019), Felix Pie (2009), Aubrey Huff (2007), and Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. (1984) and Brooks Robinson (1960) also hit for the cycle as Orioles. Four players hit for the cycle with the St. Louis Browns before they became the Orioles in 1954, including Hall of Famer George Sisler twice.
The big night Friday give Mullins a .268/.365/.478 batting line on the season. He became the first 30-30 player in O's history in 2021, had a good but not truly great season in 2022, and now it seems he's bouncing back nicely in 2023.
Friday's win improved the Orioles to 25-13 on the season. They are four games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, who lost a thrilling back-and-forth game to the New York Yankees on Friday.
