BALTIMORE -- Day after day, Cedric Mullins keeps outdoing himself.
The Orioles' breakout center fielder added to his already-lengthy highlight reel early in Wednesday's 14-1 loss to the Mets when he recorded the game’s first out by robbing Jonathan Villar with perhaps his best defensive play yet. Ranging 69 feet to his right, Mullins needed just four seconds to take an extra-base hit away from Villar with a diving catch in the left-center-field gap.
Per Statcast, the play registered as 25 percent catch probability, making it the lowest (most difficult) converted by an Orioles player this season. He used a jump that was +8.3 feet compared to the MLB average on similar plays. Mullins entered play with +6 outs above average, tied with Brett Phillips for the second-best among outfielders in MLB.
All told, it was the latest All-Star bid in what’s been a glistening first half for Mullins, who added to his American League-leading hit total with a single before scoring in the bottom of the first, after Pete Alonso’s two-run homer off Matt Harvey put the Orioles in an early two-run hole. But their momentum was short-lived. The Mets scored seven runs in three innings off Harvey and piled on against Baltimore’s bullpen, while winner Taijuan Walker completed seven innings of one-run ball.
Mullins leads the AL with 76 hits and is batting .323 with .928 OPS through 61 games.
“That was a great play,” manager Brandon Hye said. “The energy in the dugout was great after Ced makes that catch and follows it with the knock to left. We just have a tough time off Walker. He’s having a great year, so give him credit for pitching extremely well.”