Adley Rutschman is quickly showing why the Baltimore Orioles selected him with the first overall pick of the 2019 MLB amateur draft.
The former Oregon State star is off to a hot start for the Orioles in 2023.
Rutschman homered during the Orioles’ 5-1 win against the Oakland Athletics Monday night. Rutschman’s homer was a solo shot to left field off JP Sears in the third inning.
The homer gave Rutschman the chance to take a drink from the Orioles’ “Homer Hose,” in the dugout. Rutschman gulped down some water poured through a funnel.
“We’re just huge proponents of staying hydrated,” Rutschman told reporters after the game.
The hose was the brainchild of pitchers Cole Irvin and Keegan Akin. Irvin purchased a blue hose with a funnel attached. The two covered the hose with black tape and then added the orange tape for the “striped” appearance. The fledgling celebration looks very similar to a popular activity among college students at a frat party.
“It’s a homer hose, just like as a kid, you take a drink from the water hose after you play outside, playing whiffle ball,” pitcher Kyle Gibson told reporters after the game. “You have a ‘turn the water on’ celebration when you hit a single. We’ve got a sprinkler when you hit an extra-base hit. And it’s a homer hose when you hit a homer.”
Rutschman has homered in each of his past two games, hitting home runs in consecutive games for the first time in his career. Rutschman homered in his first at-bat and then added four more hits during the Orioles’ 10-9 win over the Boston Red Sox in their season-opening game on March 30. Rutschman became the first catcher in major-league history with five hits on Opening Day.
Rutschman is hitting .375 with 15 hits, three home runs and 15 RBI in 40 at-bats this season.