Jackson Holliday’s 4 hits, Coby Mayo’s 3 RBIs power Orioles to victory in Detroit

DETROIT — To put Coby Mayo in a box as a 24-year-old would be a short-sighted reaction to the learning curve that is professional baseball. To shoehorn the infielder as a platoon bat at this juncture would cap the potential that flares at times.

Are there challenging moments? Absolutely. Mayo struck out in the 11th inning of a loss Sunday, for instance. But in the lineup Monday for the Orioles’ 8-5 win against the Detroit Tigers, Mayo showed the flip side of the coin — the side that deserves as much attention as the shortcomings.

There is no denying that Mayo has been one of the best hitters against left-handed pitching this year. What he did against Keider Montero — a Tigers pitcher producing a standout year — shows he can do it against righties, too.

He crushed a two-run home run and drove an RBI single as part of Baltimore’s big night.

“I don’t think I’m one-dimensional,” Mayo said. “I think there’s a lot more to my game than just hitting lefties. Earlier in my minor league career, I really didn’t hit lefties that great so it’s been good to see. Obviously, the left-handed side of things has been great, but I can hit righties.”

This was no easy matchup for the Orioles lineup. Montero entered Monday night’s game allowing fewer than one walk and hit per inning pitched, and he held an ERA in the low 3.00s.

The Orioles have also been dealing with the notable absences of Samuel Basallo, Adley Rutschman and Blaze Alexander. That limits some of their offensive upside. But Baltimore displayed its offensive might — a might that hasn’t always made itself felt this season.

They did it through strong nights from a few of their young lineup pieces. Jackson Holliday recorded four hits, Mayo notched three RBIs and Dylan Beavers drove in another. Just to top it all off, outfielder Tyler O’Neill entered off the bench in the sixth to face left-hander Tyler Holton. O’Neill promptly homered.

“Our pitchers have been great lately, and it’s our job to go out and score more runs than the other team,” Holliday said. “We’ve got to do our part, because they’ve been doing a really good job lately. We have a really good offense, as you guys can see tonight, and we don’t have Rutsch and Basallo and Blaze. Just trying to hold down the fort while those guys are gone, and hopefully be in a great spot whenever those guys are all healthy.”

Holliday, particularly, has stepped up. Since July 8, he’s 16-for-39 at the plate. In that stretch, Holliday has walked 10 times too. He said “little adjustments [are] finally starting to click,” and he’s taking a particular focus on attacking fastballs in the zone.

Apart from the high-scoring baseball, a squirrel stole the show. But before that comedic scene, the offense built a healthy lead and kept adding.

The three-homer game covered for right-hander Kyle Bradish, who produced an uncharacteristically sloppy night. He allowed five runs on 10 hits — both of which tied his season highs — in 4 2/3 innings.

Bradish said he didn’t command his breaking balls well and the Tigers homed in on his fastball.

“They saw I wasn’t able to land the breaking balls for strikes, so they got on the fastball and put some balls into the gaps,” he said.

But the bullpen covered scoreless innings the rest of the way, and right-hander Rico Garcia — who allowed homers in consecutive appearances last week — earned the save at Comerica Park.

In total, right-handers Andrew Kittredge, Yennier Cano and Garcia, and left-hander Grant Wolfram, combined to allow one baserunner over 4 1/3 innings. Kittredge received help in the eighth when Colton Cowser made a diving catch deep in the right-center gap to rob Zach McKinstry of an extra-base hit with a runner on first and no outs.

“It was huge,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “With a runner on first base, that ball falls, who knows what’s going to happen, how that inning is going to develop. But that was a great catch by Cowser, and that’s what he’s shown. He’s shown he can play an elite center field and go get it.”

Garcia also looked dominant in his ninth-inning appearance. He struck out the first two batters he faced and forced a pop out to end it. Albernaz said the Orioles’ confidence in Garcia “never wavered” despite the pair of solo shots over the weekend against the Atlanta Braves.

The night from Mayo was perhaps his best against a right-hander all season. The last time he recorded two hits against a righty in a single game was May 7. Entering Monday, Mayo’s on-base-plus-slugging percentage against lefties was 1.071. His OPS against righties was .449.

Monday’s showing will help those numbers. It will also reinforce Mayo’s belief that he’s capable of doing so much more.

“You’ve got to keep working and pushing forward, because these pitchers are not going to slow down for you,” he said. “They’re only going to get better, and it’s our job to adjust as hitters. And cleaning up my approach, cleaning up my thoughts, cleaning up the mental side of it is a big part.”

Notes

• First baseman Ryan Mountcastle (foot) and right-hander Chris Bassitt (back) are beginning a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.
• The Orioles announced they have signed 18 of their 20 draft picks. The two unsigned players are outfielder Victor Salazar and right-hander Ross Davis, who are both high schoolers from Texas. Baltimore also signed five undrafted pitchers: left-handers Noah Chapman, Regan Hall and Colton Sampson, and right-handers David Lally and Camden Wicker.
• Baltimore swapped out catchers, designating Sam Huff for assignment and selecting the contract of Yohel Pozo. The Orioles claimed Pozo last week off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. With Samuel Basallo and Adley Rutschman on the injured list, the Orioles are relying on depth options. Those players, be it Huff or Chadwick Tromp, haven’t brought much — if any — offensive support.