Since being promoted to the Major Leagues, Ryan Mountcastle has been hitting the ball with authority. The one thing he was missing heading into Sunday's matinee was a big league homer.
So he hit two.
The fifth-ranked Orioles prospect belted a pair of blasts off veteran right-hander Tanner Roark on the way to a 3-for-4 day before the Blue Jays rallied for a 6-5 win at Sahlen Field in Buffalo.
Mountcastle led off the second inning and tattooed his first Major League shot out to left field at 104.1 mph. It traveled 420 feet, according to Statcast, and opened the scoring.
"That first at-bat, I feel like I laid off a couple of good pitches there and got one I could handle," the 2015 first-round pick told reporters. "I finally got a ball in the air. I feel like I've been hitting the ball pretty low, not much air under 'em. Today, my swing felt pretty good. It was definitely enjoyable."
After a ground ball single through the right side in the fourth, Mountcastle again took Roark deep in the sixth. With Pedro Severino aboard, the reigning International League MVP powered his second dinger over the wall in left-center at 100.1 mph. The 410-foot shot capped a three-run outburst that put Baltimore in front, 4-3.
"The second one, I was just trying to get that run in and put a good swing on it," Mountcastle said.
"Had two long home runs, really good swings all day. Nice base hit the other way. Just outstanding today," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde added. "You saw the raw power, his potential there. He took good at-bats all day."
Mountcastle flied to right in the eighth before leaving for a defensive replacement. He boosted his slash line to .393/.469/.679 through seven Major League contests, with multi-hit games in three of them. His power-packed afternoon gave the 23-year-old his first multi-RBI game as a big leaguer.
"We put a lot of work in over at the Bowie [alternate training] site with all the hitting guys and I feel like I've brought it over here somewhat and I feel pretty comfortable," Mountcastle said. "It's been awesome, just to finally be able to live out the dream has really been a cool experience so far. To have a pretty decent day today was definitely a breath of fresh air."
Making his first appearance in a week, 11th-ranked Blue Jays prospect Anthony Kay gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless sixth. No. 22 Santiago Espinal came on as a pinch-runner in the ninth and scored on Teoscar Hernández's walk-off single.
In other action:
Red Sox 9, Nationals 5
Bobby Dalbec got the news that he was headed to the Major Leagues early on Sunday. A few hours later, he made a strong first impression. The third-ranked Red Sox prospect belted an opposite field homer in his second big league at-bat, a two-run shot that was part of an early outburst that powered Boston past the Nationals at Fenway Park. Dalbec added an infield single in the seventh off Sean Doolittle to finish 2-for-4. Box score
Tigers 3, Twins 2
Second-ranked Tigers prospect Casey Mize lasted three innings in his third big league start but surrendered fewer runs and fewer hits than in either of his previous two. Against the Twins, MLB Pipeline's No. 8 overall prospect allowed two runs on two hits while striking out four but battled some command issues with two walks and three hit batters. He threw 39 of 67 pitches for strikes. No. 6 prospect Isaac Paredes went 0-for-3 in the win. Box score
White Sox 5, Royals 2 (10 innings)
No. 3 overall prospect Luis Robert moved the White Sox into first place in the American League Central Division with a three-run walk-off homer. The 23-year-old's ninth roundtripper of the season came on the first pitch from right-hander Tyler Zuber. In his second game since coming off the Injured List, fourth-ranked White Sox prospect Nick Madrigal went 3-for-4 with an RBI and his first big league stolen base, nudging his slash line to .400/.423/.400. For the Royals, No. 7 prospect Kris Bubic set a career high with eight strikeouts. Over 5 1/3 innings, the left-hander yielded two runs on six hits and a pair of walks. while walking a pair. Bubic led the Minor Leagues with 185 strikeouts last season between Class A Lexington and Class A Advanced Wilmington. Box score
Dodgers 7, Rangers 2
No. 2 overall prospect Gavin Lux notched his first hits since returning to the Major Leagues with a double and a single against Texas. The top Dodgers prospect ground a base hit to right field off right-hander Kyle Gibson in the second inning before powering a double to left field off reliever Nick Goody in the sixth. Lux saw action in 23 games with the Dodgers last year, batting .240/.305/.400 with seven extra-base hits among his 18 knocks. Rangers No. 3 prospect Leody Taveras registered his first multi-hit game as a big leaguer, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Box score
Padres 13, Rockies 2
Jake Cronenworth kept raking for San Diego, going 3-for-5 with his fourth homer of the season, two RBIs and two runs scored. His seventh-inning dinger came on a 96 mph fastball from right-hander Jairo Díaz in the seventh and scored Fernando Tatis Jr. The Padres' No. 17 prospect singled to left in the first and singled to right in the ninth, scoring on Josh Naylor’s first homer. No. 14 prospect Jorge Mateo entered as a defensive replacement in right field in the ninth, while No. 23 Javy Guerra closed out the game with a scoreless ninth, working around a hit and a walk while striking out one. Fifteenth-ranked Ryan Castellani started for the Rockies and surrendered five runs on six hits and a walk while fanning one over two innings. No. 19 Josh Fuentes singled to right for his only hit in four at-bats. Box score
Cubs 10, Reds 1
Fifth-ranked Reds prospect Jose Garcia got the start at shortstop and went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. No. 27 prospect Joel Kuhnel notched his second scoreless outing in as many days with a perfect eighth inning. The right-hander struck out Jason Heyward and Jason Kipnis swinging to end the frame. Box score
Rays 12, Marlins 7
Rays No. 19 prospect Randy Arozarena worked the count full against left-hander Brandon Leibrandt and drew a leadoff walk in the seventh inning before grounding out sharply to second base in the ninth. Eighth-ranked Marlins prospect Lewin Diaz was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Box score
Mariners 2, Angels 1 (10 innings)
Eighth-ranked M's prospect Justin Dunn pitched another gem as Seattle outlasted the Angels. For the second straight start, the right-hander gave up one hit over six scoreless innings, striking out six and working around four walks. He's lowered his ERA from 7.80 to 4.33 in those outings. No. 5 prospect Evan White returned to the Mariners lineup after missing two games with a sore shoulder and singled in four at-bats. A day after hitting his first two big league homers, top Angels prospect Jo Adell went 0-for-4. Box score
Yankees 8, Mets 7 (1st game, 8 innings)
Mets No. 3 prospect Andrés Giménez drew a pair off walks and scored a run in his first start in two weeks and a stint on the Injured List. The 21-year-old got the nod at shortstop but moved to third base in the sixth inning and committed his first error of the season with a bad throw in the seventh. No. 26 prospect Michael King started for the Yankees and gave up two runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings. Box score
Yankees 5, Mets 1 (2nd game, 8 innings)
No. 100 overall prospect Deivi Garcia was stellar in his Major League debut, allowing an unearned run on four hits over six innings. Ranked third among Yankees prospect, the 5-foot-9 right-hander retired the first nine batters and took a shutout into the sixth before Jeff McNeil reached on an error and scored on a single by Dominic Smith. Garcia struck out six and did not issue a walk. Box score
Cardinals 7, Indians 2
Top St. Louis prospect Dylan Carlson drove in two runs with a single to right field in the second inning on a 2-0 cutter from Aaron Civale. It was his only hit in three at-bats as he grounded out to lead off the fifth and bounced to second in the seventh. Box score
Giants 4, D-backs 1
Top Giants prospect Joey Bart struck out in the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter and is 1-for-19 in his last six games. Third-ranked D-backs prospect Daulton Varsho worked a leadoff walk against Johnny Cueto in the sixth and was 0-for-1 before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the seventh. Box score
Tyler Maun is a reporter for MiLB.com and co-host of “The Show Before The Show” podcast. You can find him on Twitter @tylermaun.
