More on Mullins' special night and updating the pitching stats during recent run

The Orioles trailed by a run twice last night – in the third and seventh innings against Pittsburgh – but as they have done many times this year, they found ways to win a game late. They did it this time by scoring two runs in the seventh, and three on a huge swing in the eighth.

The 6-3 win over Pittsburgh moved the Orioles to 12 games over .500 at 25-13 and to within four games of first-place Tampa Bay, which lost to the Yankees. The Orioles improved to 12-1 in series-opening games and to 5-1 when the opener was a home game.

But center fielder Cedric Mullins entertained us and grabbed the headlines with his three-run homer in the eighth. It came at such a big time and turned a 3-2 lead into a 6-2 edge. And it meant that Mullins had hit for the cycle. He flied out in the first inning, but then singled in the third, tripled in the fifth, doubled in the seventh and homered in the eighth.

Mullins is now batting .268/.365/.478/.843 with eight doubles, three triples, five homers and 31 RBIs. He has scored 19 runs and is 12-for-12 on stolen bases. He is on a pace to finish with 21 homers, 51 steals and 132 RBIs.

The cycle produced a special kind of curtain call for Mullins last night. Not one where he comes to the top step of the dugout and tips his cap, but a moment when he is the only one running out of the dugout. The Orioles stayed back, and Mullins ran by himself to center field to start the top of the ninth, soaking in every cheer from a crowd providing a standing ovation.

There are special nights and moments at the ballpark during the year. This sure was one.

"It's cool," said Mullins. "I immediately knew as soon as the third out was made that they were doing that, and they sent me out there. Just having a great crowd out there and be able to share the moment with a lot of people was fun."

Mullins' good friend Austin Hays had been the last Oriole to hit for the cycle on June 22 last summer against Washington. Now Mullins joined him, becoming the seventh to do so in O’s history, a feat first achieved by Brooks Robinson on July 15, 1960 against the Chicago White Sox.

"That was incredible," Hays said. "I was able to stand at third base and watch that ball go out. I know that was a really special moment for him. It was a special moment for me, too, to see him to get to complete that, especially with a homer, too. And he did it at home. Just can't script it any better than that.

“We were roommates in the minor leagues, we've had our struggles, we've had successes together," Hays said. "To be able to share hitting for the cycle on the same team, the team that we were both drafted by and came up together in the minor leagues, it's very special. I'm really happy for him tonight."

You don’t have to remember too far back – it was during the 2019 season – when Mullins was first sent back to Triple-A by the Orioles and later down to Double-A at Bowie. But two years later he was the first 30-30 player in club history, and now he is one of just seven to hit for the cycle for the Orioles, joining Robinson and Hays along with Cal Ripken Jr., Aubrey Huff, Félix Pie and Jonathan Villar.

Mullins worked hard this winter to improve his hitting off left-handed pitching, and he sure has done that, batting .304 with a .972 OPS against southpaws. He is also having a terrific year when hitting with runners in scoring position. His homer was his only at-bat last night with a RISP.

For the year, he is now 15-for-33 when batting with runners in scoring position, hitting .455/.591/.909/1.500 with two doubles, two triples, three homers and 29 RBIs.

Mullins has been a more selective hitter this year and it’s paying off. His walk rate increased from 7.0 last year to 13.5 now, which is well above the league average of 8.5.

He was also only in the top 55 percent of the sport in chase rate on pitches last year – that is swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. This year he ranks in the top eight percent in that stat – meaning he seldom chases. 

Less chasing, more swinging at hittable pitches and more clutch hits. Did we mention Mullins also made a diving catch last night?

By the way, O’s pitching continues to produce big during the last seven games, starting last Friday at Atlanta. In this span, the team ERA is 2.52 and Baltimore has allowed 21 runs in seven games. With Kyle Bradish allowing an unearned run over six innings last night, the O’s rotation ERA is now 2.04 the past seven games. In that span, O’s starters have allowed two earned runs or less six times with four quality starts.

Here are some cool tweets from the Orioles last night here, here, here and here. That last one shows all four hits from Friday night by Mullins.