Jackson Holliday hits grand slam after returning to Orioles

Jackson Holliday returned to the Baltimore Orioles in grand style.

Hours after being officially recalled from the minors, Holliday belted a towering grand slam in the fifth inning of Wednesday's 10-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

It was the first career major league home run for Holliday, the consensus No. 1 overall prospect in baseball who scuffled earlier this season in his first crack at the big leagues.

Holliday, 20, rocketed through the minor leagues and was called up April 10 to join the Orioles' elite core of young players. But he went just 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts in 10 games before being optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Holliday batted 271 with 10 homers, 38 RBIs and 75 walks in 73 games at Norfolk before travelling to Baltimore on Tuesday night and officially being recalled to the Orioles roster Wednesday morning.

"Just try to keep it simple," Holliday said. "The last time I was up here, got myself trying to do a little bit too much."

After grounding out in his first two at-bats against the Blue Jays, Holliday made the most of his opportunity with the bases loaded, blasting an 0-2 slider from right-hander Yerry Rodriguez well over the wall in right field to give the Orioles an 8-3 lead.

The 439-foot drive was so obviously gone that Holliday paused a bit before starting his trot, then waved to the crowd from the dugout.

"We saw him in spring. I think he hit a couple homers off us in spring too," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "I know it hasn't started exactly how he wanted, but he's (the) No. 1 prospect for a reason."

Holliday is expected to slot in at second base after the Orioles' deal Tuesday involving fellow rookie Connor Norby, who was traded with outfielder Kyle Stowers to the Miami Marlins for left-hander Trevor Rogers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.