Cedric the Entertainer
Cedric Mullins (BAL): 3-5, 3B, 4 RBI, BB.
For a second there, I thought maybe Ice Cube was making another Barbershop movie. Not this time!
The Cedric the Entertainer that we’re talking about was in Chicago on Sunday afternoon, helping the Orioles edge out a victory over the White Sox in the late innings.
Cedric Mullins was never supposed to be “The Guy” in Baltimore. In fact, he was downright bad. In 22 games, Mullins batted .094 with 14 strikeouts and just six hits in 64 at-bats. Mullins was so bad in 2019 that the Orioles (the 54-108 2019 Orioles) sent him back to the minors before the end of April. … and he was never heard from again… until 2020!
In the pandemic-shortened season, Mullins showed marked improvement with a .271 batting average, a solid handful of stolen bases, and good defense in center field. In 2021, Mullins broke out, shattering everyone’s expectations in Baltimore, the fantasy world and everywhere else to become the first Orioles player to post a 30-30 season in club history. Cal Ripken, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson… Chris Davis… none of the Orioles’ greats had ever achieved it before. But Mullins, who batted .094 in 22 games at the major league level just two years prior, had made franchise history.
In 2022, Mullins had a solid fantasy season yet again, though his power dipped from the year prior. Now in 2023, Mullins continues to be the catalyst for the Baltimore offense, helping the Orioles to a 9-7 start through 16 games, including a victory over the White Sox on Sunday.
Let’s see how the other hitters did Sunday
Jeimer Candelario (WSH): 4-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Candelario began his day with an RBI single off the fists and over second base. He led off the bottom of the third inning with a solo shot off of a Shane Bieber cutter, his third of the season. Candelario added singles in the fifth and the seventh inning to begin his day 4-for-4 but was finally retired in the eighth inning after lining out sharply to left. In his last four games, Candelario is 9-for-14 from the plate with four runs and three RBI and has been a massive part of the Nationals’ offense so far.
Corbin Carroll (ARI): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Facing Sandy Alcantara in the second inning, Carroll got a scorekeeper’s discretionary double, lining a ball off the chest of Bryan De La Cruz in left field. In the sixth, Carroll smashed a high fastball to deep center field for a two-run home run to extend the Diamondbacks’ lead, ending the Marlins’ ace’s day on a sour note. Carroll has hammered four home runs so far this season and has added six stolen bases, looking largely the part of a National League Rookie of the Year candidate.
Lars Nootbaar (STL): 1-2, HR, R, 2 RBI, 3 BB.
Lars Nootbaar hit his first home run of the season, lifting a Mitch Keller cutter into the right field stands. It marked just his second game back after returning from an early season injury, as he batted seventh in the Cardinals lineup.
Ozzie Albies (ATL): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.
Albies crushed his fourth home run of the season, tagging Zack Greinke’s slow-moving curveball over the right field fence. He added a late-game double and scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning as the Braves outlasted the Royals, 5-4, in Kansas City.
Bryson Stott (PHI): 3-7, HR, R, 2 RBI.
Stott sent the second pitch of the game into the right-field stands, crushing an elevated sinker for an exciting start to the game, but that was just the beginning for Philadelphia. The Phillies plated nine runs in the first inning, setting the tone for a blowout of the Reds in Cincinnati. Stott added a pair of late singles to finish with three hits in the game, improving his season’s batting average to .380.
Trea Turner (PHI): 3-3, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB.
Turner used his speed to generate a pair of infield singles in that nine-run first inning and came around to score after each hit. He added a pair of walks, an RBI, and another run scored. Though Turner has not demonstrated the power stroke he put on display at the World Baseball Classic, he has recorded a .338 batting average and a .392 OBP to begin the season, scoring 13 runs as well.
Brandon Marsh (PHI): 4-6, 2B, 3 R, RBI.
Marsh jumped on the Phillies’ scoring bandwagon with four hits and three runs on the day. Off to a hot start, Marsh has put up a .378 batting average and .440 OBP while adding 10 runs, 10 RBI, two home runs, and a stolen base. Not too shabby for a late-round outfielder.
J.T. Realmuto (PHI): 3-6, 2B, HR, R, RBI.
Poor Luis Cessa. More Phillies on the list. Fortunately for the Reds’ starting pitcher, Realmuto was one of the few hitters he had no problem retiring on Sunday. The Reds’ bullpen on the other hand, not so much. In the seventh inning, the Philadelphia catcher battled through an 11-pitch at-bat before smashing a slider into the left-center field seats. Just his second home run of the season, Realmuto is looking to shake off a slow start and get the bat going for fantasy managers who drafted him as high as the second round in some places.
Gavin Sheets (CWS): 2-4, HR, R, 3 RBI.
After more than two hours of a rain delay, Gavin Sheets smashed a Grayson Rodriguez offspeed delivery over the right field wall to give the White Sox an early 3-0 lead. Sheets added a single in the fifth inning to finish with a pair of hits on the day.
Josh Lowe (TB): 2-5, 2B, R, 3 RBI, SB.
Lowe started his day with a two-run dying-quail single in the first inning and added an RBI double later in the day as the Rays earned an 8-1 victory in Toronto. Lowe added a stolen base, his second of the season. Lowe looks as if he will stick around in the majors in his second chance at stardom, as he’s batting .359 through 12 games so far this season.
Cody Bellinger (CHC): 1-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB.
After getting booed by his former fan base on Jackie Robinson Day, Bellinger gave Dodgers fans a reason to boo again on Sunday when he drove an inside fastball deep into the right-field bleachers. The home run proved to be the game-winning run as the Cubs earned a 3-2 victory. To add insult to injury, Bellinger added a stolen base, his third of the season.
Marcus Semien (TEX): 1-4, HR, R, 4 RBI
Semien looked to be on track for a tough Sunday night until the seventh inning when he smashed a hanging splitter into the Crawford Boxes for a grand slam. Off to a slow start to his season (very similar to last year), perhaps the bomb against the Astros can ignite the Rangers’ infielder into turning things around like he did in 2022.