Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins exits game vs. Marlins with right quadriceps injury – The Denver Post

Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins exited Saturday’s game against the Miami Marlins in the second inning with right quadriceps tightness, the team announced.

After hitting an RBI single in the second inning, Mullins sprinted around the bases on a near-double from Jordan Westburg that was ruled foul. Mullins appeared to motion toward the dugout before gingerly walking off the field.

Rookie Colton Cowser, who made his major league debut last week, replaced Mullins on the base paths and in center field. The appearance marks Cowser’s Camden Yards debut.

The lower-body injury could be extra concerning for Mullins, who missed a month earlier this season with a right groin strain he suffered May 29. That injury also came on the bases, as the 28-year-old speedster was placed on the 10-day injured list after suffering the strain while sprinting to first base.

Mullins returned June 24, but struggled to return to form. He was 5-for-35 at the plate in his first 10 games without an extra-base hit or a stolen base. But he ended the first half hot and kept it going before his injury Saturday. Mullins went 3-for-4 with a home run and a stolen base — his first of each since returning in late June — in Friday’s win, and he singled home Ryan Mountcastle in his first at-bat Saturday.

“I think everybody knows how good Cedric Mullins can be,” second baseman Adam Frazier said after Friday’s victory. “If we got him going along with everybody else, it’s not fun for the opposition. Yeah, he’s dangerous.”

Manager Brandon Hyde said before Saturday’s contest that he was encouraged to see Mullins run the bases the way he did Friday.

“Last night was the first night on the bases that I saw him accelerate — like really accelerate like Cedric does,” Hyde said. “For me, it’s just he’s more confident with his legs underneath him and feeling healthy. Those four days of the All-Star break were enormous for him. Coming off that groin strain, you can play rehab games and Triple-A games all you want, it’s not the same sort of intensity.

“I think he was just feeling his way through a little bit early, and then now he had that [All-Star] break, which was huge. We saw him swing the bat a lot better in Minnesota that last game there, and saw him really go get it with his legs last night.”

This story will be updated.

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