Coby Mayo slugs 15th home run in win Wednesday

Elias wouldn’t go into specifics. But with Gunnar Henderson locked in at short and Pete Alonso at first, that doesn’t leave enough room in the infield for all of Jackson Holliday, the returning Jordan Westburg, Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. They also have Blaze Alexander and Jeremiah Jackson, both of whom already have ample outfield experience. Holliday in the outfield might make some sense for Baltimore, given how mediocre he’s been at second base to date.

Mayo came to the plate with two men on base in a tie game in the 11th inning. He crushed a pitch to center that outfielder AJ Ewing almost caught, but instead Ewing fell after running into the wall and Mayo rounded the bases. It was his 24th home run this season. He’s hitting .226 with a .759 OPS and 63 RBI.

Ramírez dropped a routine foul popup from Coby Mayo for the error. Mayo then hit the next pitch 407 feet for a solo homer. The hitless game leaves Ramírez 5-for-36 with no extra-base hits this month. He’s hit .227/.304/.287 with one home run in 40 games since returning from a broken hamate bone, an injury that has a history of sapping power from hitters.

The 26-year-old has been rock solid for the Orioles this season, hitting .260/.306/.486 with eight home runs and 31 RBI in 423 games. We should note that he has hit considerably better against lefties and has a .225/.247/.360 slash line against righties. With Encarnacion-Strand out of the lineup on Tuesday, Coby Mayo will DH and hit cleanup, while Blaze Alexander will play third base and bat seventh.

Mayo’s first homer off Joey Cantillo was his 16th off a lefty. The second off Slade Cecconi was his fifth versus a righty and first since July 27. He’s sat three of the last six times the Orioles have faced righties, but today’s performance could help with that. Luis Robert Jr.'s absence is also probably a good thing for his fantasy value.

This is a bit of a surprise. Robert is hitting well in August, slashing .267/.321/.520 with six home runs, 10 runs scored, and 11 RBI; however, the Orioles have been getting solid production from Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, and Leody Taveras in the outfield. Their DH spot has also been filled by Coby Mayo since Christian Encarnacion-Strand has emerged as the regular third baseman. Somebody who is playing well is going to be bumped from the starting lineup now, and you have to wonder if this is a sign that the Orioles plan to pick up Robert’s $20 million team option for 2027.

Mayo got the Orioles back into the game with a three-run homer off Jeffrey Springs that made it 5-4 A’s in the fourth inning. It gives Mayo his 19th homer in his first full season, and he’s driven in 55 runs. The .218 average leaves a lot to be desired, but Mayo’s power is readily apparent.

The homer was Mayo’s 14th off a left-hander, which ties him with Matt Olson for first in the majors. He’s also first with an 1.109 OPS against southpaws (min. 100 PA), with Andrew Vaughn second at 1.041. And the homer today was projected at 446 feet, making him one of just eight players this year to exceed 440 feet four or more times (Junior Caminero and Kyle Schwarber are tops at six times apiece). Unfortunately, Mayo is still at a pretty horrible .199/.227/.272 in 225 plate appearances against righties this year, leaving his future as a regular rather murky. The power spike would be more promising if it wasn’t coming with a 32.5 percent strikeout rate. He finished at 28.6 percent as a rookie last year.

Mayo crushed a gargantuan 468-foot moonshot off Rays lefty starter Shane McClanahan to kick off the scoring in the second inning. It was his 16th big fly of the season. The 24-year-old former top prospect continues to do serious damage against left-handed pitching. He’s been finding ways to get into the lineup between the infield corners and DH over the last couple weeks.

Encarnacion-Strand has typically been sitting against right-handed pitchers, but he went 3-for-4 with a home run on Tuesday, so the Orioles are gonna give him a chance to stay hot. We should note that, in 40 plate appearances against righties this season, CES is hitting .211/.250/.342, so the results haven’t really been there. However, it’s just a 15 percent strikeout rate in those plate appearances, so maybe the hits will start to fall. Coby Mayo is on the bench on Wednesday.