5 highlights from Orioles' home opener

This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And _subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox._

BALTIMORE -- It’s rare for an early April game to feel more like a mid-October contest, but that was the case Friday afternoon at Camden Yards.

The Orioles and Yankees, American League East rivals with postseason aspirations, played a back-and-forth affair in front of a sellout crowd of 45,017 which was dialed in on every pitch.

The O’s prevailed in a tight one, 7-6. Here’s a look back at five of the best moments from an exciting start to the home slate in Baltimore.

1. The Camden faithful greet the rising stars
Every member of Baltimore’s 26-man roster -- as well as several players who are out injured -- had his moment in the pregame spotlight, getting introduced by emcee/team broadcaster Kevin Brown and running down the orange carpet.

Some of the loudest ovations were received by catcher Adley Rutschman, infielder Gunnar Henderson and right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (fresh off his MLB debut on Wednesday).

“Just being able to have that experience, I mean, that’s what I’ve been looking forward to since Spring Training and having an idea that I was going to break with the team,” Henderson said. “It was a really special moment for me, because it was my first one.”

2. Manager Brandon Hyde gets fired up
Merrill Heim is an Orioles superfan known on social media as the “Fired Up Guy,” because he routinely attends games at Camden Yards and yells, “I’m fired up. You fired up?”

He also was the original owner of the O’s home run chain, which he initially gave to first-base coach Anthony Sanders’ son, Logan, last season. On Friday, Heim was recognized as Mo Gaba’s Fan of the Year for 2023, getting to run down the orange carpet and line up alongside Hyde.

“I had no idea that the ‘Fired Up Guy’ was going to be next to me for the national anthem,” Hyde said. “That fired me up.”

3. Urías turns impressive two to help save game
The Yankees had runners on first and second with no outs in the eighth after Oswaldo Cabrera’s RBI single cut the Orioles’ lead to 7-6. At that point, right-hander Bryan Baker entered the game and got immediate defensive help from Ramón Urías.

The Gold Glove third baseman made an impressive play on a 105.4 mph liner off the bat of Jose Trevino, stepped on third and then threw to first for the double play. Urías said he enjoyed the gem even more than his go-ahead RBI double in the seventh.

“Baker came in there in a tough situation, and I was able to make that play for him,” Urías said.

4. Baker shows emotion after escaping jam
Shortly after Urías’ tremendous double play, Baker stranded the potential tying run on third base to end the eighth by getting Isiah Kiner-Falefa to swing through a 95.7-mph fastball for a strikeout.

Baker, who routinely shows his emotion on the field after recording outs in big situations, screamed and pounded his chest as he skipped off the mound. On a scale from 1-10, how would the 28-year-old rate how amped he was in that moment?

“I’m thinking that was about a 9, 9 1/2 right there,” Baker said. “That’s about as big as it gets.”

5. 'Mountain Time' caps Orioles’ win
The O’s introduced a special closer’s entrance for Félix Bautista, nicknamed “The Mountain,” last year. The lights around Camden Yards flash. The right-field scoreboard reads “Mountain Time.” Omar’s whistle from “The Wire,” an HBO series set in Baltimore, plays over the speakers.

For the first time in 2023, the spectacle occurred prior to Friday’s ninth inning. Then, Bautista used his four-seam fastball (which averaged 99.4 mph, per Statcast) and his splitter (inducing whiffs on all three swings against it) to close out the Orioles’ first home win in his typical impressive fashion.