Protecting a 2-1 lead for the Orioles in the eighth inning of Sunday’s win over the A's, rookie right-hander Anthony Nunez worked himself into a tough spot, and then out of it. The 24-year-old issued a pair of one-out walks before striking out Brent Rooker and getting Tyler Soderstrom to fly out, good for Nunez's sixth hold of the season.
Then, Nunez had another piece of important business to take care of.
Walking back to the first-base dugout, Nunez had something to say to the broadcast’s cameras. You might have missed it at first before play-by-play man Kevin Brown relayed the message.
Nunez mouthed, “It’s a boy,” for his brother (Danny) and sister-in-law (Micaela), who are expecting their third child.
“And that, folks, is one of the most creative gender reveals you’ll ever see,” Brown said. “Anthony had the answer, Danny and Micaela did not know, and I hope that you two are watching.”
“That’s what I call multitasking there,” added color commentator Ben McDonald. “There’s no way I would have thought to do that after getting out of that situation. That would have been the last thing on my mind, to be honest with you.”
Nunez said it was his brother's idea, though it was something that was communicated at the last minute, once it was decided the entire family would get together to watch the Orioles game on Mother's Day.
"He said he saw it done maybe a couple years ago. He was like, 'That'd be sick if you do that,'" Nunez said. "I honestly forgot about it until I got the third out and I saw the camera pointing at me and I was like, 'Oh, shoot. I forgot I've got to do this.' I was more locked in on the at-bats."
It was quite a Mother’s Day gift, as Brown noted, and joined a long list of creative baseball gender reveals over the years. The Pirates’ Braxton Ashcraft and Joey Bart teamed up for one earlier this season, with Bart walking out to the field wearing a pink arm sleeve.
For Nunez, the opportunity to do something special for his family is of utmost importance to the Miami native.
"They mean the world to me," Nunez said. "They're my support system. They keep me strong in my faith as well, they keep me accountable. They've been there from the beginning, sacrificed a lot for me, and it's been amazing to have them around."