Orioles' Tyler O'Neill extends MLB record with 6th straight Opening Day home run

Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun on Mar 27, 2025

Published in Baseball

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TORONTO — There’s something about Opening Day for Tyler O’Neill.

Whether it’s the pomp and circumstance, the excitement of a new season or he’s just that good when fully healthy, O’Neill knows how to get ahold of one. The Orioles outfielder extended his MLB record Thursday by hitting a home run in his sixth consecutive Opening Day game. No other player in American League/National League history has a streak longer than four.

O’Neill, 29, began the streak with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020 and extended it into his one-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox last season. Now a member of the Orioles after signing a three-year, $49.5 million contract this winter, the veteran slugger plated two runs with his 376-foot blast off Toronto Blue Jays starter José Berríos in the third inning.

The Orioles opened up a 5-0 lead on the swing. Adley Rutschman, who also has a strong Opening Day track record, crushed a solo shot in the first inning to get the Baltimore offense started. Including his third-inning single, the Orioles’ catcher is 9 for 11 (.818) with two home runs and seven RBIs in Opening Day games so far in his young career. Center fielder Cedric Mullins added a solo blast in the fourth inning to give Baltimore a 6-0 lead before Andrés Giménez hit a two-run homer in the bottom half to end Zach Eflin’s no-hit bid.

A native of Burnaby, Canada, O’Neill is coming off a strong season in Boston in which he hit .241 with 31 home runs and an .847 OPS in 113 games. The Orioles are hopeful he can help replace the production lost by the departure of Anthony Santander, who signed with the Blue Jays and batted third in their lineup against Baltimore on Thursday.