Pena gets in on O’s HR barrage with his 1st

BALTIMORE — Orioles catcher Francisco Pena had dreamed of rounding the bases in a home run trot on the Major League stage while growing up at the ballpark with his dad, former Major League catcher Tony. By the time he came to the plate in the eighth inning Thursday, he’d watched his teammates trot aound the bases five times in a 12-7 win over the Red Sox.

Then he got his chance. In his Orioles debut, the 26-year-old belted his first career long ball as part of Baltimore’s seven-homer power surge.

“Every little kid has that dream,” Pena said. “It’s the first home run in the big leagues. It was real happy. It was a great feeling. The fans here were awesome.”

The Orioles are known for their power, but they entered the series finale without a homer through the first three games. They had gone 113 at-bats against Boston without a long ball until Mark Trumbo blasted a 1-2 changeup 115 mph into the seats — it was the fourth-hardest-hit homer this season, per …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com