Cedric

Mullins

Mullins was a menace in this one. His only out came on a sharp ground ball against Marcus Stroman in the first inning after the Orioles opened this game with six straight hits. Mullins has done well to pull the nose up on what seemed like a lost season with nine home runs, 16 stolen bases, and an .830 OPS in 57 games since the All-Star break.

Mullins got the Orioles back in the game with a two-run shot off Ty Madden. After a shaky August that saw him hit just .200/.324/.317, the veteran outfielder has hit five homers in September with an .820 OPS.

Mullins continues to play well after his dreadful start, and gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead with a single in the third. The 29-year-old has now stolen 28 bases to go with 51 RBI and an OPS of .720. That’s a solid last number, and more impressive when you consider it was .658 on August 8.

The first was a Pesky Pole homer projected at 334 feet and only that far because of a nice breeze. The other was a no-doubter, traveling 406 feet. The two homers gave Mullins 17 for the year, surpassing his total of 16 from 2022 and 15 from last season. He’s not going to match the 30 he hit in 2021, but he’s rebounded nicely from his early season struggles. Two months ago, it seemed likely that he’d be bounced from Baltimore’s plans for 2025. Now, though, the odds are much better that he’ll be back for his final year before free agency.

Mullins has been in the leadoff spot a bunch when he enters the game as a pinch hitter, but he has only started one game hitting higher than sixth in the lineup since June 12th. With Adley Rutschman in a bit of a slump, the Orioles will bump him down the fifth in the lineup and give Mullins a chance back near the top of the order. The veteran has started September going 10-for-24 with two home runs and six RBI in seven games, so perhaps the new lineup spot can provide some fantasy goodness down the stretch in an otherwise disappointing season.

Mullins gave the Orioles their only run of the day with a solo homer off Ryan Pepiot in the sixth inning. He was then pinch-hit for in the eighth with a left-hander on the mound. The 29-year-old outfielder is hitting .232/.302/.405 with 15 homers, 59 runs scored, and 26 steals across 428 plate appearances.

Mullins is back in center field and batting seventh on Tuesday night out in Los Angeles following a two-game absence due to left quad tightness.

It’ll be the second straight game that Mullins has missed after exiting Friday’s game due to tightness in his left quad. Colton Cowser will start in his place in center field and will bat sixth against Astros’ southpaw Yusei Kikuchi on Sunday evening in Baltimore.

It doesn’t come as a surprise to see Mullins taking a seat for some extra rest with tough lefty Framber Valdez toeing the rubber for Houston following his early exit from Friday’s showdown due to left quad tightness. There isn’t a ton of clarity on his status yet, but fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now. It’ll be Colton Cowser taking over in center field on Saturday afternoon in his absence.

It’s unclear exactly when the injury occurred, but Mullins was replaced by Austin Slater defensively. He’ll head for further evaluation to determine the extent of the issue. Expect the Orioles to provide an update and a timeline on his recovery as soon as more information becomes available.