Revenge games happen often across baseball, but what Kyle Stowers did to the Orioles on Sunday is almost unheard of.
The Marlins outfielder hit three home runs in three consecutive at-bats against Orioles right-hander Brandon Young, staking Miami to a 7-0 lead in Stowers’ return to Camden Yards. He became the fourth Marlin all-time to hit three homers in a game, joining Mike Lowell in 2004, Cody Ross in 2006 and Brian Anderson in 2020.
Stowers smashed a splitter 403 feet for a solo shot in the second inning, then hit a two-out, two-run homer off a curveball in the following frame. That 398-foot blast capped off a four-run third for the Marlins, who took a 4-0 lead.
The 27-year-old then drilled a fastball from Young down the right-field line in the fifth, taking a moment to admire his third homer of the game that stunned the home crowd. All three homers were hit harder than 100 mph and came on three different pitches.
Young tried a splitter, a curveball and a fastball against Stowers, and he hit all of them out of the ballpark. The third homer knocked the Orioles’ 26-year-old rookie out of the game. Seeking to become only the 20th MLB player to hit four homers in a game, Stowers lined a 110 mph single to right field off reliver Colin Selby in the seventh.
The Texas Rangers’ Josh Hamilton hit four homers against the Orioles at Camden Yards on May 8, 2012, and Cleveland’s Rocky Colavito did it at Memorial Stadium on June 10, 1959. No Oriole has ever hit four homers in a game.
Stowers was named to his first All-Star game this year, entering Sunday slashing .281/.351/.505. He’s now hit 19 home runs and has a .904 OPS this season, which would both lead the Orioles. Stowers homered four times in 67 games for Baltimore between 2022 and 2024, but has thrived with more consistent playing time in Miami.
Stowers was picked out of Stanford by Baltimore in the second round of the 2019 MLB draft. He rose through the farm system with other young players such as Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg, now the core of the Orioles’ lineup.
But on July 30, 2024, Stowers and infielder Connor Norby were traded to the Marlins in exchange for left-handed pitcher Trevor Rogers. Baltimore was in the midst of a playoff push and decided that the outfielder was expendable after he batted just .229 with four homers in his three seasons as an Oriole.
Given consistent playing time in Miami, he’s turned into one of the best young hitters in MLB. Stowers has raised his barrel rate by 8%, is hitting more than .100 points better against fastballs and has lowered his strikeout percentage this season.
He’s worth 1.7 Wins Above Replacement according to Baseball-Reference this year and is one of the best players that Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias has traded away.
“It’s just where I was drafted, I just keep going back to the people, just because those are the guys that I came up with in the minor leagues, and some of my best friends in the world,” Stowers said Friday.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Jane at sjane@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/Sam_Jane230.
