The Baltimore Orioles got a historic level of production out of the nine hole Sunday.
Shortstop Jorge Mateo went 4-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Texas Rangers, all while batting last in the Orioles' lineup. Mateo's efforts weren't enough to lift his team to victory, though, as Baltimore wound up losing 11-8 to go down 2-0 in the series.
Still, Mateo became just the sixth player ever to record four hits while batting ninth in the postseason, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs.
Prior to Mateo, the last player to accomplish the feat was Anaheim Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy in Game 5 of the 2002 ALCS. José Vizcaíno did it for the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the 2000 World Series, while his teammate, Derek Jeter, did it in the 1996 ALCS.
Luis Alicea had a four-hit playoff game with the Boston Red Sox just one year earlier in Game 1 of the 1995 ALDS. Before that, the only No. 9 hitter ever to record four hits in a playoff game was Red Sox shortstop Spike Owen in Game 6 of the 1986 ALCS.
Of course, pitchers typically batted ninth across baseball until the American League added the designated hitter in 1973. The National League didn't follow suit until 2022, which explains why there are no NL players who have batted ninth and enjoyed that level of success at the plate.
Mateo, like most No. 9 hitters, has hardly hit anywhere near as well as he did Sunday across his four-year career to this point.
Across 79 games with the San Diego Padres and 298 with the Orioles, Mateo is a .223 career hitter with a .633 OPS. Mateo carved out a more consistent role with Baltimore over the past few years – stealing 35 bases in 2022 and 32 in 2023 – he still averaged just one hit for every five plate appearances in that time.
Mateo had just one game with four-plus hits in his entire career entering Sunday – a 5-for-5 performance against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 12, 2022.
It remains to be seen if Mateo will slot back into the Orioles lineup for Game 3, or if the 28-year-old will come off the bench again, as he did in Game 1.
First pitch for Game 3 – a must-win for Baltimore and a potential series-clincher for Texas – is scheduled for 8:03 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
More must-reads: