BALTIMORE -- How hot is Adley Rutschman at the plate these days? Well, let’s just say that a ball that was firmly in a defender’s glove unexpectedly turned into a grand slam on Thursday.
During the fifth inning of the Orioles’ 10-3 win over the Astros in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Camden Yards, Rutschman stepped to the plate to face left-hander Steven Okert with the bases loaded. Batting right-handed, the 28-year-old catcher put a good swing on a 2-2 fastball from the southpaw and drove it to deep left-center field.
Houston center fielder Brice Matthews tracked it well, then made what appeared to be a leaping grab to rob Rutschman. However, Matthews crashed into the wall so hard that the ball fell out of his glove upon impact, dropping into Baltimore’s bullpen.
At first, Rutschman and the baserunners weren’t sure what happened, especially because no umpire had yet made a signal. But the relievers in the Orioles’ bullpen quickly jumped up in excitement, flapping their hands in the O’s celebratory bird motion being used this season.
Rutschman’s third career grand slam -- and his first since hitting two in 2024 -- gave Baltimore a 5-0 lead in support of right-hander Chris Bassitt, who struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball in what was easily the best of his six starts for Baltimore. In the seventh, Jeremiah Jackson hit a slam of his own to push the O’s lead to 10-1.
It was Jackson’s second career grand slam, the first coming in an April 13 win over the D-backs, not long after he hit a foul liner that struck the face of manager Craig Albernaz (who broke his jaw and sustained at least seven fractures in his face).
Baltimore had not hit two grand slams in a game since Nolan Reimold and Steve Clevenger each hit one in the eighth inning of a 14-8 win over Kansas City on Sept. 11, 2015, at Camden Yards. Thursday’s twin-bill opener marked the eighth multi-slam game in O’s history (since 1954).
The Orioles were the first MLB team to hit multiple grand slams in a game since the Pirates, who got slams from Bryan Reynolds and Rowdy Tellez in a 14-2 win over the Mets on July 5, 2024. The AL/NL record for grand slams in a game is three -- the Yankees hit a trio of slams in a 22-9 win over the A’s on Aug. 25, 2011 (Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and Russell Martin).
After being on the injured list from April 11-21 due to left ankle inflammation, Rutschman has raked since returning to the Orioles’ lineup on April 21 in Kansas City. He has at least one hit in each of his first six games back, four of which have been multi-hit performances. Rutschman is hitting .440 (11-for-25) with four homers and 14 RBIs over that span.
When healthy, Rutschman has been among Baltimore’s top hitters this season, as he’s now hitting .356 with a 1.067 OPS in 16 games.