The homer was O’Hearn’s second in nine games against his longtime organization. He probably shouldn’t have much bad blood, though. The Royals obviously had no idea how to unlock his talent, but they also kept him around on a major league salary for three years longer than his play justified. O’Hearn has excelled in his platoon role this year, batting .303/.384/.579 in 86 plate appearances.

O’Hearn delivered a game-tying RBI single off of MacKenzie Gore in the fifth inning, then raced around to score with the go-ahead run on an RBI knock from Cedric Mullins. The 31-year-old struck out in each of his other two plate appearances in the ballgame. He’s having another solid season for the Orioles so far, slashing a healthy .283/.358/.483 with three homers, seven RBI and one stolen base.

The homer was hit 393 feet, but since it was hit just to the right of dead center, it would have been out of only six ballparks, according to Statcast. It was the third homer of the year for O’Hearn, who is now batting an impressive .326/.404/.587 in 52 plate appearances. It’s unclear what he’d have to do in order to exit his platoon role. His fine showing last year wasn’t enough; he started just three games against southpaws in 2024. He’s yet to be included in the lineup against a lefty this season.