Parmelee has a debut to remember with O's

BALTIMORE -- Before Tuesday night's 19-3 win, Chris Parmelee sat and watched Monday's 4-0 victory in the Orioles' clubhouse while the rest of his teammates watched from the dugout.

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"That was torturous," Parmelee said. "Just watching the game from the TV knowing it's 100 feet from outside. I wasn't too happy about that, but that's the way it goes."

The outfielder/infielder had an opt-out clause in his contract for June 15, and was brought up on Monday, but was not activated until Tuesday. He made the most of his first opportunity with the club when he went 4-for-6 with two home runs and two singles in Baltimore's rout of the Phillies.

"That's a pretty good way to start, right?" Parmelee said.

Parmelee was batting .312 in 61 games in Triple-A Norfolk this season, and continued his hot hitting into Tuesday's game.

He picked up his first hit as an Oriole in the first inning with a single off Jerome Williams, and then collected his first homer, a solo shot in the second inning. Parmelee repeated the sequence, hitting a single in the fourth and a homer in the sixth.

Parmelee became the first Oriole to homer in his first game with the club since Nelson Cruz did so on March 31, 2014. He also became the second Oriole since 1954 to hit two home runs in his first game with the club, joining Sam Horn, who did so on April 9, 1990, at Kansas City.

"It was nice to see Chris come up and make an impact right away. It's been a long journey back for him. Happy for him," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

Parmelee played four seasons in Minnesota before joining the Orioles' organization, and said he remembered the intensity of Orioles fans from an opponent's standpoint. He saw a different side of them when he recorded his first out of the game in his fifth at-bat, and exited the field to a standing ovation.

He doesn't know how long he will be with the team, but he's trying to make the most of his time. He's off to a pretty good start.

If his debut wasn't enough, Parmelee got to also experience the developing tradition of getting pied as the MASN postgame interviewee. It's usually just one, but the newest member of the Orioles was greeted with three pies from his new teammates.

"That was pretty special for me," Parmelee said. "My debut for this team, and this year in general, it's a huge thing."