With a leadoff home run to mark his return from a few days on the bench with a sore hip, Orioles rookie Cedric Mullins reclaimed his rightful place as not only their brightest star in the present, but a piece to look ahead to with a modicum of hope.
The rest of the eventual 9-2 loss Friday night at the Kansas City Royals, who now at 43-91 are 3 1/2 games better than the 40-95 Orioles in the race to not have the league’s worst record, was largely the kind of baseball that got the visitors into the sad situation they find themselves.