BALTIMORE -- Cedric Mullins must have been in a history-making mood Friday night. He was the first Orioles player to set off the brand-new, freshly unveiled ¡°Bird Bath¡± celebration, with his fifth-inning triple leading to the soaking of fans in the 156 seats of Section 86 in left-center field at Camden Yards.

A fun moment but far from the most historic one, because Mullins later achieved one of baseball¡¯s most illustrious hitting feats -- the cycle.

With a three-run homer in the eighth, Mullins completed the 12th cycle in franchise history (the seventh since relocating to Baltimore in 1954) to power the Orioles to a 6-3 series-opening win over the Pirates. In addition to his earlier triple, the 28-year-old center fielder singled in the third and doubled in the seventh.

The O¡¯s needed to send five batters to the plate in the eighth in order for Mullins to get a chance to join the Marlins¡¯ Luis Arraez (April 11) as the only MLB players with cycles this season. Heading into that inning, everybody in Baltimore¡¯s dugout was yelling, ¡®Let¡¯s get Ced up,¡¯ according to manager Brandon Hyde.

When Mullins got up with runners on the corners and two outs, he rose to the occasion -- and gave the O¡¯s insurance runs they needed. His blast off a 1-1 changeup from Pittsburgh right-hander Duane Underwood Jr. pushed Baltimore¡¯s lead to 6-2.

¡°That¡¯s a highly anticipated moment right there, and it was huge for me to come through for the team,¡± Mullins said. ¡°You obviously know that you¡¯re a single swing away from the cycle, but at the same time, you¡¯re trying to get a job done, drive some runs in, and everything just kind of fell in line.¡±

After the eighth ended, the Orioles needed to record three more outs to improve to 12-1 in series openers and 25-13 this season (which they eventually did once closer F¨¦lix Bautista came in and struck out the side). But before the ninth began, Mullins¡¯ teammates remained back in the dugout and let him run out to center field by himself, allowing him to receive a standing ovation from the 25,682 fans in attendance.

It was a special moment for a player who¡¯s been in Baltimore since 2018. Mullins endured the tough years of the rebuild. Now, he¡¯s getting to enjoy the team¡¯s success, while continuing to serve as arguably its biggest spark plug -- he owns a .268/.365/.478 slash line with 16 extra-base hits (including five homers) and 31 RBIs and is 12-for-12 on stolen-base attempts.

Mullins is also playing exceptional defense, which he again showed with a diving catch to rob Jack Suwinski of a hit to open the seventh.

¡°You look back at how far he¡¯s come as a player, it¡¯s unbelievable,¡± Hyde said. ¡°He showed you tonight why he¡¯s an All-Star-type player and why he¡¯s so valuable to us.¡±

Just how valuable?

¡°I don¡¯t even know if you can put words on it,¡± fellow outfielder Austin Hays said. ¡°He¡¯s our everyday center fielder; he¡¯s as good as they come in center. He hits for power. He¡¯s one of the best stolen-base threats in baseball. He¡¯s as valuable as anybody can be to any team.¡±

Hays, who was roommates with Mullins in the Minor Leagues, is the only one of his teammates who knows what it¡¯s like to hit for the cycle. Hays had been the most recent Orioles player to do so, completing the feat in a six-inning rain-shortened win over the Nationals at Camden Yards last June.

Some O¡¯s fans got wet on Friday night, too -- those seated in the ¡°Bird Bath.¡±

This season, whenever the O¡¯s hit a double or triple, the players on the top step of the dugout spit water onto the field in sprinkler-like fashion. When there¡¯s a home run, he who goes deep gets to drink from the homer hose. Starting Friday, whenever any of that happens during a home game, ¡°Mr. Splash¡± -- the team¡¯s new ¡°Chief Hydration Officer¡± -- will get the fans involved, too. His job is to spray those seated in Section 86 with a hose while the Orioles are celebrating in their own fashion.

¡°¡®Mr. Splash¡¯ was letting it fly out there,¡± Hays said. ¡°I know the fans were loving it, they were extra riled up tonight. Give that guy a raise out there. He was electric for the boys.¡±

Mullins made sure ¡°Mr. Splash¡± stayed busy, collecting three of Baltimore¡¯s five extra-base hits. The introduction of the ¡°Bird Bath¡± only added to the atmosphere generated by a raucous Friday crowd.

And while the fans were already having a great time, Mullins went on to make the night that much more memorable.

¡°To have a great crowd out there today, and to be able to share the moment with a lot of people, is fun,¡± Mullins said.

¡°What a special night for Cedric,¡± Hyde said. ¡°What a great player.¡±