Jackson Holliday's odd 337-foot homer sneaks under the foul pole in Orioles' 7-4 win

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jackson Holliday's first home run of the season may be one of the more unusual homers he's hit.

His two-run shot in the fourth inning that gave the Baltimore Orioles the lead for good in a 7-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night went 337 feet and sneaked just over the wall and under the foul pole in left field, coming to rest on the concrete block supporting the pole.

A fan quickly dashed over to grab the souvenir.

Tigers left fielder Riley Greene ran over to try to make a catch, then briefly looked around in apparent confusion when he couldn't find the ball. Detroit pitcher Jack Flaherty had an incredulous look on his face.

Holliday didn't know what to think.

"I was like, ‘OK, I flew out, whatever,’” Holliday said.

“Then, I saw Riley running back, and I was like, ‘Oh man, maybe he’s not going to catch it,’” he added.

The homer gave the Orioles a 6-4 lead.

It was the shortest out-of-the-park home run to left field at Camden Yards since 2015, according to Statcast.

“That home run was impressive in a lot of different ways — how it went underneath the foul pole, but also, from our vantage point in the dugout, that ball could have hooked foul,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “But his swing path is so clean where the ball flight just stayed true.”

Holliday also had a single in the third inning, walked once and scored a pair of runs. Holliday, on the injured list since March 22 following surgery on the hamate bone in his right hand, was activated by the Orioles on Monday.

The top overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft played in the minor leagues in the first eight weeks of the season. In 22 minor league games, Holliday batted .176 with a double, triple, home run and five RBIs.

“It’s been a little bit of a grind of a year so far, and just to be up here with these guys and contributing to a win,” Holliday said, “it’s awesome.”

The son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, he batted .242 in 2025, his first full major league season, with 17 homers and 55 RBIs. He made his MLB debut in 2024.

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