After whirlwind offseason, Valaika settles in with Orioles

Pat Valaika is settling in nicely with his new team. Injuries to other players opened up some playing time for him and as more at-bats were coming, so have more hits. He went 4-for-4 last night in the Orioles' 9-5 win over the New York Mets.

Last season with Colorado, Valaika had four different stints with the big league team, getting 86 total plate appearances over that time. He already has 86 plate appearances with the Orioles. He's batting .275/.318/.488 with two doubles, five homers, nine RBIs and a .805 OPS.

Valaika's four hits last night are a career high and it was his fourth multi-hit game. Valaika homered in three straight games, Aug. 20-22 and delivered a walk-off hit with a single in the 11th inning on Aug. 1 against Tampa Bay. Against left-handed pitching, he is batting .318 with four of his homers and a 1.264 OPS.

"It's definitely nice getting in there and getting at-bats," Valaika said today during a pregame Zoom interview. "I've had years where, you know, I've kind of just been a pinch-hitter, and it's tough. You just take it day-by-day and hope to see your name in that lineup. It is nice to get in a rhythm and expect to have four at-bats in a game. It's nice to compound those at-bats and it can get you in a groove, compared to years prior where at-bats have been sporadic. You know, you just do the best you can with whatever situation you are given. That is kind of how I've always done it."

Over his last three games, Valaika is 7-for-12 with two doubles and an RBI, raising his average from .221.

He wears uniform No. 74 for the Orioles, which can look more like a number for an offensive tackle.

"It was funny. When I got here, they just gave me that number and it was actually my debut number with the Rockies," he said. "My intention was to switch it and I started off not too bad. And I thought, 'I'm just going to roll with it.' So, 74 it is."

During today's interview, the 27-year-old Valaika, a ninth-round draft pick in 2013 out of UCLA, told us why day games might mean a bit more for him.

"I have a 10-month-old daughter, so I spend a lot of time with her," he said. "She goes to bed pretty early right now, so I don't get to see her after these games. Any time I get to spend with her is a blessing."

Valaika's winter experience might remind one a bit of Hanser Alberto's wild ride on the waiver wire before the 2019 season. After last season, on Oct. 30, the O's claimed Valaika on waivers from the Rockies. But on Jan. 16 Arizona claimed him from the Orioles. A couple weeks later, on Jan. 30, the O's claimed him back again from Arizona, and he was returned to the organization. On Feb. 11 he was outrighted off the 40-man roster, but he would find his way back there as well.

And he has made starts at five different positions for the Orioles, with 10 at shortstop, four each at third base and second base, three in left field and one at first base. Four of his five home runs on the season have come in the seventh inning or later. That is tied for the second most in the American League with Mike Trout of the Angels and Nelson Cruz of the Twins. José Abreu of the Chicago White Sox has six such home runs.

Valaika said his O's experience has been going just fine.

"It's been great. I like our team," he said. "I know we're in a rebuild, but the guys in that locker room, you know, we all have the same goal, and that's to win every night. We're never going out there thinking we're overmatched or anything. I love our lineup and our pitching staff. When we all kind of contribute together, we're pretty good. I think we might surprise some people."