WEST SACRAMENTO -- If nearly anybody else had slugged a Statcast-projected 455-foot home run over the fans seated on the right-field berm and somewhere into the various trees at Sutter Health Park on Saturday night, maybe more members of the Orioles’ clubhouse would have been surprised at how far the ball traveled or impressed by the mighty swing.
But instead, it was Colton Cowser, whose longest career homer broke a tie in the sixth inning and helped lift the O’s to a 7-4 victory over the A’s.
The reaction afterward may have seemed a bit tame, only because Cowser has become so good over his first two big league seasons.
“Somebody was talking trash to me, messing with me, so I was giving it back, and I just heard the sound,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino, who missed the moment Cowser made contact. “So I just heard the snap of the bat, and then somebody goes, ‘Ohhh.’ I looked up, and it went over the trees. I don’t think I’m amazed by it, because we’ve kind of seen something similar before.”
“Very impressive,” outfielder Ramón Laureano said. “I mean, you know, it’s not even impressive, because that’s what we expect from him.”
Cowser’s one-out blast off Athletics starter Luis Severino left his bat at an exit velocity of 112.4 mph. His third home run of the season -- and his second since returning from a left thumb fracture on Tuesday in Seattle -- gave Baltimore a 5-4 lead it never relinquished.
It was the longest homer hit by an O’s player since Ryan Mountcastle’s 472-foot blast against the Astros on Aug. 8, 2023.
“It felt great,” Cowser said. “It’s one of those things that when the swing’s feeling good and timing’s there, you don’t really feel when you make contact, and that was one of those ones.”
Cowser is quickly reminding everybody of his importance to the Orioles’ lineup. The 2024 American League Rookie of the Year Award runner-up has a hit in all four games he has started since coming off the injured list and is 5-for-17 (.294) with three extra-base hits and two RBIs after missing a little more than two months.
Laureano has also provided a jolt after returning from a left ankle sprain on Friday. The 30-year-old hit a two-run homer in the fourth, knocked an RBI single in the seventh and added another single in the ninth against the team he played for from 2018-23.
“We’ve got a couple healthy players, that helps. Cowser and Laureano, those are the guys that hit some big blows for us,” Mansolino said. “We’ve got some good players right now. We’re excited to have them.”
Baltimore is continuing to get even healthier, with infielder Jordan Westburg (left hamstring strain), outfielder Tyler O’Neill (left shoulder impingement) and backup catcher Gary Sánchez (right wrist inflammation) all rehabbing at Triple-A Norfolk and nearing returns.
“When you’re talking about 10-plus guys on the IL, and now, little by little, they’re coming back, if you understand that, you know that things will turn around,” Laureano said. “And that’s what we’re seeing right now.”
The Orioles (26-37), who have won 10 of their past 13, scored more than five runs for the first time since an 8-4, 11-inning win at Milwaukee on May 21. It was the most they’ve plated in a nine-inning game since a 7-3 win over the Angels in Anaheim on May 11.
Baltimore is beginning to show more resilience than it did early in the year, too. The A’s had a 4-1 lead after the first inning -- tagging right-hander Charlie Morton for four runs during his 2 1/3-inning start -- before getting blanked by the O’s bullpen, which combined for 6 2/3 scoreless.
On Sunday, the Orioles will have an opportunity to record three consecutive series wins for the first time this year. If they’re victorious, they’ll finish their West Coast road trip at 5-1.
As the season seems to be trending in a better direction, the O’s insist there haven’t been any overwhelming changes to help make it happen.
“I feel like the vibe never really shifted. Being around the team, it just felt like we were in one of those streaks, and I don’t think anything’s really changed,” Cowser said. “I think that just as a whole we’ve continued to start playing well on both sides of the ball, and it’s something that I think keeps the vibes up, that’s for sure. Because winning is a lot more fun.”