'Folk lore: Mountcastle swats three homers

Ryan Mountcastle ended Saturday's game against Louisville with a walk-off home run. On Sunday, he picked up right where he left off.
Baltimore's top prospect cracked three homers and drove in five runs, leading Triple-A Norfolk to a 11-5 victory over Louisville at Harbor Park.

After Saturday night's walk-off solo shot against the Bats, Mountcastle smacked a 2-2 pitch from Eric Stout over the left-field wall in the first inning. Two innings later, he got to the southpaw again, knocking the first pitch deep to left-center for a two-run shot, his third consecutive four-bagger.
After popping out in the fourth, the 22-year-old infielder struck again in the sixth, walloping a 1-2 pitch from righty Tristan Archer for another two-run roundtripper.
"I've been seeing the ball well the last couple of days and getting into some good counts has helped with that," Mountcastle said.
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After an hour-plus rain delay, the right-handed hitter came to the plate in the seventh, lofting a long fly ball to right caught by Aristides Aquino on the warning track.
Was he aiming for that fourth big fly when he came to the plate?
"I was just trying to hit something hard," Mountcastle said. "Have to try to keep the same mind-set every at-bat no matter the situation."
This wasn't the Florida native's first pro game with three dingers. Playing for Class A Advanced Frederick on May 26, 2017, Mountcastle smacked three solo shots against Buies Creek. His only other multi-homer game prior to Sunday came the same season on April 21 against Salem.

There was one big difference between the two three-home run outings, Mountcastle said.
"I saw some more pitches today compared to the first time," he said. "They were both pretty cool."
MLB.com's No. 63 overall prospect became the seventh player to achieve the feat for the Tidea, and the first since July 15, 2005 when Chase Lambin knocked out a trio at Syracuse. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder was the first to do it at Harbor Park, which opened in 1993.
Selected by the Orioles with the 36th overall pick in 2015, Mountcastle is spending his first season at the Triple-A level. He's batting .328 with 11 homers, a triple, 13 doubles, 39 RBIs and 33 runs scored. More than halfway to his career high of 18 homers in a season, Mountcastle expected the power in his swing to become more of a tool as he matured.

"It just comes with experience and age," he said. "I haven't changed anything at the plate. Just always trying to get a good pitch to hit and trying not to miss it."
Zach Vincej provided some pop for the Tides offense as well with a homer and four RBIs. 
Baltimore's No. 18 prospect Luis Ortiz (2-5) picked up the win, allowing four earned runs on four hits while striking out eight over six innings. Righty Jay Flaa scattered a run on two hits over three innings to earn his third save.