The Baltimore Orioles took home the win on Saturday night after taking down the Kansas City Royals 9-7. Craig Kimbrel recorded his 422nd career save, tying Billy Wagner for seventh all-time in career saves. However, thanks to a rookie mistake, Baltimore had to go fishing for Kimbrel's historic baseball.
Colton Cowser caught an outfield fly to end the game. Immediately after catching it, he tossed the ball into the Royals' Kaufman Stadium fountain, according to ESPN. The Orioles prospect outfielder knew he made a mistake right away.
“Right when I threw it I said, ‘Craig has a lot of saves, that one might be important.' There were two balls in the fountains, and the other one was really old.”
Luckily, the Orioles were able to get the ball back. During the postgame press conference, manager Brandon Hyde poked fun at Colton Cowser's mistake. Colton has been phenomenal early on this season, so it's funny that his one mishap happened to be Craig Kimbrel's historic baseball.
“Orioles manager Brandon Hyde knew Kimbrel needed that ball and faulted the 24-year-old rookie. ‘I guess Cow just threw the ball into the stands. We've got to have a little more awareness out in left field when you catch that, when the guy on the mound is that high in saves.'”
From the sounds of it, Colton Cowser learned his lesson. The star outfielder claims he's going to remember to hold onto the ball anytime he records an out with Kimbrel on the mound.
“Every time I catch the ball and it's a last out from him now, it's staying in the glove.”
Orioles' 2024 playoff hopes
Baltimore has one of the most exciting young rosters in the MLB. The franchise has done a magnificent job acquiring young talent and developing them. Their top prospects are all beginning to make the jump to the majors and the roster is shaping up nicely. That's also including the top prospects who have already carved out a solid career in the Majors already. The Orioles are only going to get better with time.
They're currently ranked second in the American League East right behind the New York Yankees. Expectations are high for Baltimore right now as the franchise has yet to win a World Series since 1983. The roster is top tier right now and the Orioles are in a great position to be a legitimate playoff contender later this season.
With the roster already stacked, the Orioles have a chance to get even better down the road. On top of exciting prospects like Jackson Holiday and Colton Cowser, Baltimore is expected to have guys like Coby Mayo, Heston Kjerstad, and Connor Norby make the jump to the Majors at some point this season. That's not even including the other exciting prospects like Samuel Basallo and Enrique Bradfield Jr., who aren't supposed to be promoted until 2025 or 2026.
The short and long term outlook for the Orioles is absolutely fantastic and this ball club isn't going away anytime soon. Look for Baltimore to get the ball rolling as the young core continues to develop into more consistent baseball players.
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