O's Magic: Holy Cowser!
Cowser shines, Holliday doesn't as Orioles sweep Boston to advance to 8-4.
Welcome back to another edition of ‘O’s Magic’, a Cool Sports Newsletter series made by a die hard Orioles fan. Baltimore closed off a six game road trip in Boston, winning all three in Fenway Park against the Red Sox to elevate themselves to 8-4 on the season. But many things stood out. The Homer Hose is back, Jackson Holliday is finally in the major leagues, and the hero inside of Colton Cowser is alive and well! Here are the quick hits from Baltimore’s first sweep of the season.
Things that Were Intriguing
Holy Cowser
I stand corrected folks. This kid is really fricken’ good! Colton Cowser is playing exceptional baseball. Kevin Brown’s, “Holy Cowser'' call after his second home run of game three of the series will turn into an all time classic. For the season, Cowser is hitting .458/.462/.917 with a 1.378 OPS. Oh yeah, he also has a 297 OPS+! This is UNHEARD OF. Now, these numbers won’t continue at this level. But in this series, Cowser—now nicknamed the Milkman thanks to Ben McDonald—went 6-13 with two home runs and 10 RBI’s. He had ten RBI’s in 13 at bats! In fact, he became the first Oriole ever with ten RBI’s in a series at Fenway Park. Even when he doesn’t get on base, Cowser has a beautiful swing with amazing exit velocity. Everything we were raving about throughout spring training has been an understatement. Austin Hays, it was nice knowing you…but your job has been lost! The Orioles have a star on their hands, and his name is Colton Cowser.
Ryan O’H-Earned His Spot in the Lineup
Ryan O’Hearn finally saw consistent time in the lineup for the first time this year, and he showed that he is still a very good hitter Baltimore needs to keep in their lineup. O’Hearn hadn’t played much because of the outstanding play from Ryan Mountcastle. But he’s showing once again that he is a force to be reckoned with at the batter’s box. I would like to take my attention to Baseball Savant by MLB.com. According to Baseball Savant, O’Hearn is the 97th percentile in xBA (a metric that determines how often a player will get a hit when making contact), the 100th percentile in strikeout percentage and the 98th percentile in whiff percentage. He has a great eye, and is consistent when making contact. O’Hearn is showing his 2023 campaign was not a fluke, and that he will continue to stay a consistent piece in Baltimore’s lineup.
The Homer Hose is Alive and Well
Not everything is advanced metrics and results. Sometimes the way you play on the field is because of the environment in the dugout. Last season, Adley Rutschman and the Orioles came up with an idea of the ‘Homer Hose’, now making a ‘Bird-Bath’ in Camden Yards and different water celebrations depending on the hit. Baltimore finally brought back the beloved Homer Hose, and it’s worked. Baltimore’s offense struggled in their first nine games. Even after this series Baltimore is still getting on base at a below .300 rate, one of only eight teams in the majors to do that. Overall they’re 8-4 because of a pitching rotation that is top five in both ERA and quality starts. But after bringing back the Homer Hose, Baltimore has scored 7 runs and then 9 runs, finally clicking on offense. The Homer Hose is used after home runs, and Baltimore has had to use it a lot as they’ve hit four bombs since bringing it back. ‘Soaking It In’ was all Baltimore needed to start to score runs consistently, and as a fan I’m excited to continue to see a ton of sprinklers turned on the rest of the year.
Areas That Need Work
A Shaky Holliday
I’m not panicking at all. Jackson Holliday still totaled an RBI and two on-plate appearances (one a fielder's choice and the other on an error). But an 0-8 start with no true on-base appearances wasn’t great. He was also very shaky in the field. He missed a fly ball though it was from a tough angle, bobbled baseballs that rolled his way and didn’t show much enthusiasm when throwing to first base, not something you’d want to ideally see from your starting second baseman. But he’s played two games. He’s 20 years old. The nerves were definitely there. I’m not worried. But I’d like to hope his first series was not the best series he’ll ever play!
Baltimore goes back to home to play Milwaukee, first having to go against their former friend D.L. Hall, and Milwaukee having to most likely go against their old friend Corbin Burnes later on in the series. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Overall, the emergence of Colton Cowser and the O’s offense was massive, as they start to pile on wins for what is looking like another special team in downtown Baltimore!
Chase Coburn
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