Red Sox catcher Adley Rutschman’s ‘special’ reaction after dominating return to Baltimore

On Thursday night, Adley Rutschman made an emotional return to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, playing in his old stomping grounds for the first time as a member of the Boston Red Sox following his trade from the Baltimore Orioles a month ago. Rutschman promptly delivered a showcase of what the Orioles have been missing since.

Rutschman was the star of the show, going 2-4 from the plate with two home runs. He gave the Red Sox the lead in the first inning, homering off of Brandon Young, and he cut Boston’s deficit to just one run, 3-2, after he hit another long ball off of his former teammate.

Even with Rutschman now suiting up for the opposition, Orioles fans’ love for him clearly did not waver, as evidenced by the huge reception he got on Thursday. The Orioles even played his longtime walk-up music and gave him a video tribute for good measure.

“It was special to feel that kind love, it’s really cool. Emotional moment and really special. Just a really, really special moment,” Rutschman said, per Josh Tolentino of The Baltimore Sun. “It’s a really good group, and they do things the right way. So, they did [inform me beforehand of the scheduled tributes]. It was, all of it was special, man. It’s like a true testament to them as an organization. They do it right.”

It was a difficult decision for the Orioles to let go of their former franchise cornerstone, but they believed that the time was right to get a good return for the former All-Star catcher. It was also a big decision to let him go to a division rival in the Red Sox.

Rutschman is yet to find his footing as a member of the Red Sox. He entered the night with an OPS of .499 as a Boston player, but perhaps this two-home run night is the kind of game he needs to build momentum heading into October.

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