Ayala made his major league debut as the Mets' starting left fielder at Shea Stadium on August 27, 1974. With one out and the bases empty, he hit a home run in his first at bat off the Houston Astros' Tom Griffin to open a three-run rally in the bottom of the second inning in a 4–2 Mets victory. Wearing uniform number 18 and strictly a corner outfielder, Ayala played in only 45 games with the Mets (23 in 1974, 22 in 1976). After spending 1974 with New York, he spent 1975 in the minors, 1976 with the New York Mets. He was traded from the Mets to the St. Louis Cardinals for Doug Clarey during spring training on March 20, 1977.
He was acquired by the Baltimore Orioles from the Cardinals for Mike Dimmel on January 16, 1979 and assigned to the Rochester Red Wings. His contract was purchased by the Orioles from the Red Wings .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}3+1⁄2 months later on April 30. With Baltimore, Ayala routinely platooned with Gary Roenicke and John Lowenstein.
Ayala appeared in two World Series with Baltimore. In 1979, he belted a two-run homer in the Orioles' Game 3 win over the Pirates. In 1983, he made one pinch-hitting appearance against the Phillies. He singled home the tying run in Game 3 and later scored the winning run.

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