As the 2025 season began, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tyler O’Neill already held the record for hitting a home run in five consecutive Opening Day games. He achieved this feat four times with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2020 to 2023 and once with the Boston Red Sox in 2024. On Thursday, O’Neill extended his streak to six, launching a 2-1 pitch from José Berríos over the right-field wall against the Toronto Blue Jays. The homer, which increased Baltimore’s lead to 5-0 in the third inning, was particularly special as it marked his first Opening Day game played in his home country of Canada.
In 2024, O’Neill’s power helped the Red Sox snap a three-year Opening Day losing streak. Reflecting on that game, a 6-1 win over Seattle, he joked, “It has to be something to do with the pregame ceremony or something… It’s fun. You always want to kick the season off with a bang.”
O’Neill spent six seasons with the Cardinals before being traded to the Red Sox last year. While in St. Louis, he won back-to-back Gold Glove awards in 2020 and 2021, with his best offensive season coming in 2021 when he slashed .286/.352/.560 with 138 hits in 482 at-bats. However, injuries impacted his performance in the following years.
After a strong season with Boston, where he led the team with 31 home runs—his highest total since hitting 34 for St. Louis in 2021—O’Neill signed with Baltimore in free agency. The Orioles secured the veteran slugger with a three-year, $49.5 million contract in December, which includes an opt-out after the first season.
