Jorge Mateo hits home run in return from injured list

BALTIMORE — As the Orioles rolled to a 6-2 American League East road trip through Toronto and St. Petersburg over the past week, Jorge Mateo watched from the bench. The 28-year-old traveled to both cities, but he sat out while on the seven-day concussion injured list.

When the O’s returned home Tuesday, they reinstated Mateo, who wasted no time getting in on the fun of the team’s recent hot stretch.

In his first plate appearance off the IL, Mateo belted a three-run homer off Atlanta left-hander Max Fried during the second inning, helping power Baltimore to a series-opening 4-0 victory at Camden Yards. The Orioles (44-22) are a season-high 22 games above .500 after notching their fifth straight win and their 15th in their past 19 games.

Mateo, who was previously 1-for-6 with three strikeouts lifetime vs. Fried, jolted a mislocated 0-2 curveball a Statcast-projected 402 feet into Baltimore’s bullpen in left-center field. The big blow came after Anthony Santander walked to open the second and Austin Hays then singled.

Entering Tuesday, batters were 8-for-50 (.160) with 20 strikeouts against Fried’s curveball this season. Mateo is only the third player to homer off the pitch this year, joining Dodgers sluggers Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández (both May 5). Fried had never allowed a homer on an 0-2 curve in 151 outings (134 starts) across eight big league seasons.