Baltimore Orioles Rookie Makes History With Monster Game

Baltimore Orioles rookie Colton Cowser made history against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
Baltimore Orioles rookie Colton Cowser made history against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
Baltimore Orioles rookie Colton Cowser made history against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
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The Baltimore Orioles are loaded with young talent, which was readily apparent on Tuesday.

During the afternoon, the Orioles pounded the Boston Red Sox 7-1 in their home opener at Fenway Park. In the evening, the team announced that it's calling up the No. 1 prospect in baseball, Jackson Holliday, from Triple-A Norfolk.

But before the Holliday news broke, another Baltimore rookie made headlines on Tuesday with his big performance at the plate.

While new ace Corbin Burnes took care of business on the mound with seven innings of one-run ball, outfielder Colton Cowser provided all the run support he would need with two doubles and four RBIs.

It was a historic performance for Cowser, who became the youngest Oriole with two doubles and four RBIs in the same game since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1983.

Even more impressively for Cowser, both of his doubles came against Red Sox ace Brayan Bello, who is considered Boston's best homegrown starting pitcher in over a decade.

In his first at-bat, Cowser roped an RBI double off the Green Monster, tying the game at 1-1 in the top of the second. His next time up in the fourth, Cowser laced a two-run double to the opposite field, making the score 3-1 and giving Baltimore the lead for good. After striking out in his third at-bat, he tacked on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for good measure.

Not bad for a 24-year-old playing in Fenway Park for the first time.

Tuesday was only Cowser's third start of the season, but he's making a case for more playing time with a .467 batting average and a 1.171 OPS. Brandon Hyde's juggling a lot of talent right now, but Cowser's proving he belongs in the big leagues.


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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.