Jackson Holliday makes grand return to Orioles' lineup

The Orioles' top prospect, who had only 2 hits and 18 strikeouts in 36 plate appearances coming in, smashed a 439-foot grand slam in his third at-bat against the Blue Jays.

Toronto Blue Jays v Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays v Baltimore Orioles | Greg Fiume/GettyImages

In the blink of an eye, Jackson Holliday's frustrating, up and down season appears to have turned a corner.

The Orioles' 20 year-old rookie belted an 0-2 pitch from Toronto right-hander Yerry Rodriguez 439-feet for a no-doubt grand slam home run, extending the Orioles' lead in Wednesday's finale against the Blue Jays to 8-3.

Man, that swing must have felt good.

And with that swing, perhaps Holliday can put the bizarre first part of 2024 season behind him. Holliday came into the 2024 season as the unquestioned top prospect not only for the Orioles, but in all of baseball.

Things started well in Spring Training, when Holliday played great but was surprisingly - and disappointingly - optioned to AAA Norfolk to start the year. Then, in the middle of an April three-game series in Fenway Park, Holliday was summoned to Boston to make his big league debut.

The intrigue and anticipation were at an all time high; unfortunately, Holliday's play during a brief stay in Baltimore were not. He struggled and was sent back to Triple A Norfolk, where he would miss time due to an elbow injury and become the subject of trade rumors.

Orioles' rookie Jackson Holliday clobbers a grand slam for his first Major-League extra base hit and home run

The Orioles and their fans knew that Holliday would return and get another chance. But questions remained: could the kid hit Major League pitching? He struck out 18 times in his 36 plate appearances with the Orioles, and managed just two hits, neither of them for extra bases.

With Jorge Mateo on the IL and Connor Norby en route to Miami at the trade deadline, a spot opened up for a suddenly-surging Holliday, who had been crushing Triple A pitching. And after bouncing out in his first two-at bats on Wednesday against the Jays, Holliday made sure his third at-bat would be remembered.

And it will be. That beautiful swing accounted for Holliday's first career home run, first career extra-base hit, and first shot into Eutaw Street. For the Orioles, the hope is its the first of many such swings.

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