Before he took the field and fans entered the stadium, Anthony Santander stood at his locker in the Orioles clubhouse and admired the miniature version of himself.
While he’s been a steady fixture in the lineup since 2020, this is his first time being bestowed with the honor of a giveaway night.
“It looks just like me,” he proclaimed as he spun it around. Santander said he hopes he can get extras for his parents, who were at the game on Saturday.
It’s a top five moment in his career, he said, but not even close to the one that’s depicted with his bobblehead, when he hit a walk-off home run to help the Orioles beat the Yankees 1-0 on July 29, 2023, a game that proved crucial down the stretch as Baltimore chased, and eventually clinched, the American League East.
On Saturday, Santander channeled some of that energy, hitting a home run 402 feet to Eutaw Street, the first Orioles player to land one there this season. It was the 10th time Santander has done so, second all-time behind only Chris Davis — a fact he was told by Colton Cowser midgame.
“That’s awesome, especially to get it to Eutaw Street,” Santander said after the 9-5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. “It’d been a long time since I hit one over there, but great way to celebrate my bobblehead day.”
That home run was one of four the Orioles hit to beat the Rays, overcoming an uncharacteristically short start from Kyle Bradish thanks to six scoreless innings from their bullpen, led by Jacob Webb’s 2 1/3 innings.
Bradish, making his sixth start since his UCL sprain, did not have command of his four-seam fastball, forcing him to rely more on his slider. The Rays had a pair of singles in the first, but Bradish was able to escape the rest of the inning. The same could not be said for the second, when he gave up three runs, and the third, when he gave up another run and then walked three straight batters. He was removed with two outs in the inning after walking Yandy Díaz with the bases loaded.
“It was just a bad day,” Bradish said. “A bad day to be a starting pitcher in Baltimore today.”
The short start forced the Orioles to go to the bullpen early — not ideal for a team that lost John Means and Tyler Wells with season-ending elbow injuries. But the combination of Webb, Dillon Tate, Cionel Pérez, Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin got the job done.
“For me, Jacob Webb is pitcher of the game,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He comes in with the bases loaded way earlier than he normally does and gets a fly ball and two scoreless innings after that allowed our offense to continue to swing the bat well.”
The Orioles found some relief, too, in their offense as they drove out Rays starter Taj Bradley after 3 1/3 innings. They kicked off the game with Ryan Mountcastle and Santander hitting back-to-back home runs, and Jordan Westburg following in the second. Mountcastle added his second home run of the day in the fourth, giving him four RBIs, with Kyle Stowers and Jorge Mateo also contributing RBIs.
“It’s unbelievable what we have hitting one through nine,” Mountcastle said. “When we are all hitting, we’re pretty dangerous and a fun team to be around.”
