Facing old club, McCann (5 RBIs) leads O's offensive charge

BALTIMORE -- Revenge is sweet. Just ask Orioles catcher James McCann.

On Friday, he faced the Mets for the first time since they traded him to Baltimore last December for a player to be named later and cash. Before the game, McCann had an edge about him during the hitters' meeting, according to teammate Jordan Westburg.

“He is a catcher. He has caught a lot of these [Mets] arms. He knows firsthand how pitchers move or guys' tendencies,” Westburg said. “He is very good at giving us a few tips here and there. Like I said, he is playing with an edge and, tonight, I felt like he was a little more fiery than usual, which is awesome to see. Usually, those games go one or two ways when you have a little more energy. It’s really bad or good.”

The energy was really good for McCann, who had three hits, five RBIs and stole a base in a 10-3 victory over New York at Camden Yards. It was McCann’s second career five-RBI game -- the other came on Aug. 12, 2017, when he was with the Tigers.

The Orioles won their American League-leading 68th game of the season and remained two games ahead of the Rays in the American League East.

In two years with the Mets in 2021 and ‘22, McCann was supposed to be a staple behind the plate, but lack of production and injuries made him expendable after last season. Francisco Alvarez was waiting in the wings, nearly ready to take the reins behind the plate. So with two years left on his contract, McCann was traded to the Orioles last December, and he has become a valuable backup for Adley Rutschman.

“He has a little history with a lot of people. I love how he is willing to share everything. He just wants to win,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. “He is super helpful. For Adley, it’s a great combination. … [McCann] has been everything as advertised.”

Usually, McCann does most of his talking behind the plate. But it was in the batter’s box where he haunted the Mets. McCann gave Baltimore a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning off right-hander John Curtiss when he singled up the middle to drive in Austin Hays and Ryan O’Hearn.

Two innings later, the Orioles went off on right-hander Phil Bickford by scoring four runs. McCann highlighted the scoring with a two-run double to left field.

He was also in the middle of a four-run seventh inning when he singled down the right-field line, scoring Colton Cowser. McCann acknowledged there was extra incentive against the Mets, but at the end of the day, he takes everything day by day, pitch by pitch.

“That is something this team has been good at,” he said. “Myself as well as other veteran guys have been preaching … pitch by pitch, inning by inning and not worry about the big picture. When you take care of the little things, big things happen.”

Hyde was happy for his backup catcher. The skipper said despite the low batting average this season (.215 after Friday’s action), McCann has hit the ball hard, but most of the time, the ball has found a glove.

“It’s never easy when you are not playing every day and you are getting two to three starts a week and trying to produce. It’s a tough role,” Hyde said. “But he gives us good at-bats. Tonight, it was good to see him get some results. He hit the ball hard, drove in some big runs for us. He was a little frisky on the bases as well. I’m really happy for him.”

Although McCann was able to get revenge in the batter’s box, he said the struggling Mets have a good group of guys. New York has lost four straight games since trading several key players, including Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, David Robertson and Tommy Pham, before Tuesday’s Trade Deadline.

“I don’t have an answer on why it’s going the way it is, but my focus is here and the group we have here. I want to see how far we can take this thing,” McCann said.