Colton Cowser didn’t need to eat Wheaties on Friday morning to power the 476-foot home run he smashed against the Minnesota Twins.
“I had the same breakfast per usual,” Cowser said. “I usually just go with some French toast, avocado, some bacon. I actually had a hard-boiled egg this morning. That was new, so I may have to mix that up.”
The blast, which had an exit velocity of 106 mph, cleared the tall batter’s eye in center field at Hammond Stadium.
“Is that what it was?” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said in shock when told the distance of Cowser’s homer. “He put a great swing on that. I think he showed you a little bit of what he can do with the base hit the other way and the power to dead center. Getting more comfortable with some regular at-bats. That was an impressive home run.”
Cowser’s long ball was the last of back-to-back-to-back homers in the third inning off Twins starter Tyler Mahle. Jordan Westburg and Daz Cameron preceded Cowser with solo shots of their own — both hit harder than 100 mph and farther than 400 feet.
“It was nice to see Jordan drive the ball the way he did, and Daz had a couple of really good at-bats,” Hyde said.
Cowser, the Orioles’ No. 4 prospect according to Baseball America, had been struggling this spring. The 2-for-3 day was his first multi-hit game of camp. He also smacked an RBI single and made a sliding catch in left field in the 5-3 win over the host Twins.
“I’m getting more comfortable every day,” the 2021 first-round pick said. “The strikeouts have cut down a little bit. At the beginning of spring, it felt like it was every at-bat. I just think that comes with more [at-bats]. You’re going to continue to get more comfortable and seeing the ball a little bit better.”
Also in the game, Gunnar Henderson broke out of his 0-for-15 slump with a triple to right-center field.
Kremer refocusing on rotation competition after WBC
The inning before the three straight homers, Orioles starter Dean Kremer allowed back-to-back solo shots to Kyle Farmer and Michael A. Taylor. Those two pitches were the only blemishes in an otherwise productive outing for the 27-year-old right-hander.
“For the most part, it was really good, just made two mistakes. They got hit hard,” said Kremer, who allowed three hits and two runs in four innings while walking none and striking out three. “But still kind of — I don’t want to say tune-up — but still building volume and making sure I extend myself.”
The start was Kremer’s first since returning from playing for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. He pitched four shutout innings in Israel’s WBC opener last weekend. Israel didn’t advance past pool play.
“Our team, we had some fun,” he said. “It’s very rare that you get to be in a clubhouse with a lot of guys similar to yourself. … It’s a lot of fun being around guys just …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
