The Baltimore Orioles start off their west coast swing with a 2-0 victory against the Mariners. Grayson Rodriguez was electric tossing 6.1 shutout innings while striking out 8 batters. Rodriguez also picked up his 10th win on the season which is second most in the American League. Heading into this series, the O’s won their previous series against the Texas Rangers. The series against the Rangers saw some pre-fourth of July fireworks when Heston Kjerstad launched a Grand Slam in the O’s 6-5 victory Saturday night. The grand slam set a franchise record for home runs within a month at 60. The long ball has powered the Orioles all season, leading the majors in home runs at 139. After the grueling month of June, the O’s have propelled themselves to the number two spot on MLB.com’s Power Rankings. The Orioles also sit alone atop the AL East division as the New York Yankees continue to struggle.
What A Month
Before June, Anthony Santander seemed to be struggling with the bat but proved all the doubters wrong. Santander put up Player of the Month-type numbers, clubbing a league-high 13 home runs in June. He also drove in 26 RBIs while posting a .960 OPS, for an OPS+ of 159. With Santander’s stellar play, this propelled him into the All-Star game for the first time in his career. The former Rule-5 draft pick has found his rhythm with the Orioles and it is great to see it all pay off. Hopefully, Santander can keep up the success he found in June and continue to strike fear into opposing pitching staffs throughout the rest of the season.
Baltimore Takeover in Arlington
After mentioning one All-Star, the Orioles will be sending five more down to Arlington. Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, and Jordan Westburg are all currently fighting for your vote as they are vouching to be All-Star game starters. Henderson is almost a lock to be the starting shortstop for the American League taking 67% of the votes over former top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. Another lock to be a starter is Rutschman getting a command 72% of the votes against Salvador Perez. The Orioles should also expect players from the pitching staff like Corbin Burnes and Craig Kimbrel to join the current six in the All-Star game. This is also the first time since 1972 that the Orioles will have six or more in the midsummer classic. Keep voting for your O’s as All-Star voting ends July 3rd.
West Coast Swing
The Orioles will look to continue their winning ways after the game one victory Tuesday night. The Mariners are currently atop the AL West division but have a 2-8 record in their last 10 games. The O’s who are the best offense in the league will have a good chance to out-slug the Mariners who are a bottom-five offense according to OPS. The Mariners pitching on the other hand leads the league in WHIP at 1.08. The Orioles may have to create runs in more ways than just the long ball against a dominant pitching staff. The Athletics are currently at the bottom of the league in many statistics as they have a record of 31-56 on the season. Hopefully, the Orioles can come up with a series sweep in what will be their last time playing in the Oakland Coliseum.
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