Orioles’ Jackson Holliday collects first career hit with single in 6-4 win over Brewers
After being held without a hit for the first three games of his MLB career, Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday broke through with a single against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday for his first major league knock.
HERE. WE. GO. pic.twitter.com/GjPoBkJMlD
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 14, 2024
With his dad, seven-time MLB All-Star Matt, and his wife Chloe sitting in the front row with Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., Holliday pulled a 1-0 sinker from Brewers reliever Abner Uribe through the right side for a single in the bottom of the seventh. He registered a 101.4 exit velocity on the pitch up and in the strike zone.
“Not so much difficult, just a lot,” Holliday said of his first few days in the majors. “But it’s been fun. It’s quite an experience. I don’t think I’d ever take it for granted, the experience that I’ve had and it’s a good learning experience. If you go three or four games, [a hitless stretch] is going to happen in baseball. I’d prefer it not to happen at the beginning of my career but it’s going to happen and I’m going to hopefully learn from it.”
Holliday would later come around to score on a double-play groundout by catcher Adley Rutschman to score the go-ahead run before finishing 1-for-4 in the eventual 6-4 victory.
“Normal stuff for a 20-year-old,” Orioles co-hitting coach Ryan Fuller said of Holliday’s struggles before Sunday’s game. “We’re not worried at all. He’s had all the cameras in his face, a lot of stuff going on in the first couple of days. So, we can’t wait to just have him be in a normal routine, be one of the guys and come here and not feel like he has to get a hit today.”
Holliday, 20, got the call from Triple-A Norfolk Tuesday night to join the Orioles on their road trip in Boston. The 2022 No. 1 overall pick rose to the top of prospect rankings with his scorching start to his professional career, slashing .321/.451/.497 with 15 home runs and 29 stolen bases in 155 minor league games since being drafted.
To help ease his transition into the majors, manager Brandon Hyde has penciled Holliday into the No. 9 spot in the lineup for each of his four starts. He also gave Holliday the day off Saturday with the Orioles facing a left-handed starter, something the team plans to make a habit of while he settles into an everyday role with Baltimore.
“You hope so,” Hyde said of whether Holliday can settle in now that he’s gotten his first hit. “I thought he made a good [at-bat] against [reliever Hoby] Milner there, tough left-on-left guy, after that, so I thought he played a little easier today and it’s great to see him get his first hit.”