Baltimore Orioles Star On Historic Pace After Monster Game

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman just did something he's never done before.

May 12, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Adley Rutschman (35). / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles suffered their second straight loss on Monday, falling 3-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays in 10 innings at Camden Yards. The Orioles simply weren't able to muster much offense against Jose Berrios and co., managing just three hits and squandering another brilliant outing from ace Corbin Burnes (six innings, one run).

They also wasted a great performance from Adley Rutschman. Baltimore's star catcher contributed both of the team's runs, tagging Berrios for a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth and another in the sixth. Both bombs put the Orioles in the lead, but both times they failed to hold it.

It was the first multi-homer game of Rutschman's career, which is somewhat surprising given that he already has 41 career homers in 306 games. That makes three homers in two games for Rutschman, who went yard on Sunday as well (although nobody was on base for that one, either).

Oops, he did it again pic.twitter.com/msYDZJ5RuU

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) May 14, 2024

With his recent power surge, the 26-year-old backstop is now batting a career-high .309 with eight homers, 25 RBIs and an .834 OPS (also a personal best) through 39 games. Now in his third season, Rutschman has continued to build off the impressive start to his MLB career.

There's still a long way to go, but if Rutschman maintains his current pace, he'll make MLB history. He's currently on track to bat over .300 with more than 30 homers and 100 RBIs. If he exceeds all of those benchmarks, he'll become just the fourth catcher in the last 50 years to do so, joining Hall of Famers Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Piazza along with three-time All-Star Javy Lopez.

Considering those are three of the best offensive catchers in the last half-century, that's pretty good company. While catchers tend to wear down over the course of a season, Rutschman spends a good amount of time at designated hitter, which helps him stay in the lineup.

With so much talent around him, the sky's the limit for the former No. 1 draft pick. If he keeps it up, he's going to be the best catcher in team history before long.