Asked a few hours before his first big league Opening Day how he — his eligibility retained during a dazzling debut last season — felt about entering 2021 as a Rookie of the Year Award candidate, Ryan Mountcastle was mostly diplomatic. He “won’t press to win awards,” Mountcastle said, stressing he needs only to “go out there and play my game.”
The rest, it was implied, would take care of itself.
Only then did he go off-script a bit, letting a sprinkle of his confidence show through.
“And if I do that,” Mountcastle said. “I think I have a pretty good shot of getting it.”
That’s certainty possible if Mountcastle continues to contribute the way he did Friday, when he paired with John Means to lead the Orioles to their 3-0 season-opening win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Cranking a go-ahead two-run double off the Green Monster in the sixth, Mountcastle complemented seven sterling innings from Means on the mound to cement a clinical victory on a cold day in Boston.