SAN FRANCISCO -- It's no secret that Mark Trumbo has been scuffling a bit at the plate over the last few weeks. But there have been occasional flashes of what has made him the heart of the Orioles' power-hitting offensive attack this season. In Friday night's 5-2 victory in San Francisco, the story was no different.
In the first inning, he came to the plate with runners at first and second and one out, with a chance to do some early damage against Giants starter Matt Cain. It wasn't to be, as he ended up grounding into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play. Then in the fourth, he strode into the batter's box with runners at second and third and two out. The Giants opted to pitch to him, and the decision paid dividends when Cain got him to go down swinging to end the inning.
But in between those two at-bats, it was a different story. In the third, Trumbo came to bat with Manny Machado on first and nobody out. After falling behind in the count 0-2, he took two balls and then fouled off four straight pitches before turning around a 90 mph fastball, depositing it deep into the bleachers in left field for his Major League-leading 33rd home run of the season, giving the Orioles a 4-0 lead.
According to Statcast™, the ball left Trumbo's bat at 113 mph and traveled 441 feet, nearly landing on the concourse behind the top of the bleachers in deep left field. In a ballpark that's always been known as a pitcher's park, those metrics are especially impressive.
"Yeah, I spoiled a few and got one that I could handle," said Trumbo of his nine-pitch battle.
"It's an excellent ballclub over there. [Having played] in this division, I've seen them firsthand for a while, and they don't beat themselves very often," Trumbo, who previously played for the D-backs, added about the importance of getting out to an early lead. It was his home run that helped them do just that.