Gleyber Torres has now hit 10 home runs against the Orioles this year, and Orioles’ announcer Gary Thorne can’t describe the Yankee shortstop’s home run binge anymore.
On Tuesday night against the New York Yankees, the Baltimore Orioles became the fastest team to reach 100 home runs allowed in a season (48 games). Yankees’ shortstop Gleyber Torres didn’t hit a home run Tuesday night, but two on Monday night gave him eight in six games against Baltimore this season. He had 10 home runs for the season entering Wednesday night’s game.
With New York up 4-0 in the bottom of the third inning, Torres faced Dan Straily and hit yet another home run (a solo shot, as the two Monday night each were) against the Orioles.
Orioles’ play-by-play man Gary Thorne is one of the best play-by-play men around, with a simple home run call (“Goodbye, home run!”) and an overall style that stands as a contradiction to his more over the top counterparts (including the one on the Yankees’ radio broadcast).
But on Torres’ third inning home run, Thorne couldn’t hide what can only be called a mix of amazement and frustration.
In the fifth inning Torres hit another solo shot, this time to right field off Orioles’ reliever Gabriel Ynoa. Thorne had another epic though somewhat muted, reaction, with palpable emotions that seemed to border on producing tears.
The Orioles were on pace to allow 338 home runs for the season after Tuesday night, and thus easily shatter the single-season record set by the 2016 Cincinnati Reds (258).
The Yankees won 7-5 Wednesday night, led by five home runs (two from Torres, one each from D.J. LeMahieu, Gary Sanchez and Thairo Estrada). So the Orioles have now allowed 105 home runs this season, with one more game immediately coming against the Yankees on Thursday. So their already dubious record-setting pace has been accelerated just a bit.
As for Torres, he has the possibility of eight more games against Orioles’ pitching this year.