What else can you say but How about those O’s?!
The Orioles began their nine-game West Coast swing in outstanding fashion by sweeping the San Diego Padres over the two-game mini-series at Petco Park. Not only did the O’s beat the Padres, they crushed them, to be brutally honest.
The two-game sweep now puts the Orioles at a season-best seventeen games above the .500 mark at 47-30, and thanks to a current seven-game winning streak, the O’s have also opened up a 5.5-game lead for first in the division over the Boston Red Sox. The Orioles will head to the Emerald City owning the joint second-best record in the American League and the fourth-best in the majors.
After Adam Jones and Melvin Upton Jr. traded leadoff home runs in the first inning on Tuesday, Chris Davis would record the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and the O’s never looked back after that. Hyun Soo Kim doubled the Orioles’ advantage with a two-run shot in the fifth inning, and it would also serve as a prelude for what the Orioles were preparing to unleash in the next frame.
The O’s opened up the floodgates in the sixth inning en route to scoring seven runs on eight hits. Crush would serve as the spark for the Orioles offensive explosion by launching his 19th homer of the year, followed by an RBI double by Hyun Soo Kim and a two-run double from the red-hot Jonathan Schoop to give the visiting Orioles a 8-1 lead. Manny Machado jumped in on the barrage with a two-RBI single to make it 10-1, and Mark Trumbo put the finishing touches on the Picasso of a scoring display by the O’s with an RBI single. Just like that, the O’s held a commanding 11-1 lead going into the seventh.
The resilient Padres wouldn’t go down without a fight however, as Wil Myers launched a three-run shot off of Oliver Drake in the seventh. San Diego watched the hourglass expire on their semi-comeback attempt after tacking on another three runs in the ninth off of TJ McFarland to make it an 11-7 final score.
Wednesday’s afternoon tilt played out in a similar fashion. With the game deadlocked a 0-0 through three, the Orioles would strike again with a four-run fourth inning after Schoop opened up the scoring with an RBI double followed by Machado’s RBI single.
And then, Trumbo cranked an incredible upper deck shot to give the O’s a commanding 4-0 advantage. What a blast…But I guess it’s only fitting that Trumbo’s monster blast gave him his MLB-leading 23rd home run of the season.
After Jones gave the Orioles a 7-0 lead on an RBI single in the sixth, Brett Wallace launched a three-run shot off of Yovani Gallardo to breathe life into the home squad going into the seventh inning, but the Orioles ultimately crushed the Padres comeback hopes by unleashing a five-run barrage in the top of the ninth. Machado and Trumbo would deliver the knockout blows with a pair of two-run doubles, and Joey Rickard capped off the blitzkrieg with an RBI groundout to give the Orioles a massive 12-3 lead. The Padres again scored three runs in the ninth, this time off Drake, but it would only make the score line look better as the O’s cruised to a 12-6 victory and their second straight sweep.
Now, let’s take a look at the highlights from America’s Finest City:
– After Ubaldo Jimenez held the Padres to just one run on Tuesday along with Gallardo pitching five shutout innings before allowing three in the sixth on Wednesday, the duo combined for a rock solid 3.27 ERA versus San Diego. Jimenez has now won two straight decisions while lowering his ERA from 7.34 to 6.63 during that span, while Gallardo has recorded a 2-0 record while lowering his ERA from 7.00 to 5.77 during his three starts since returning from the DL. More of the same please!
– The Orioles offense also stayed red-hot versus San Diego by hitting a stellar .353 while scoring a remarkable 23 runs over the two-game series. The O’s sluggers also hit .434 at the plate (10-for-23) with runners in scoring position.
– Over the last 12 games, the O’s are bating a superb .345 while scoring 7.5 runs per game along with 21 homers. Over the last ten games, the Orioles are hitting an outstanding .360 at the dish along with scoring an eye-popping 8.2 runs per game.
– On a larger scale, the Orioles are scoring a ridiculous 6.7 runs per game over their last 27 games (19-8)
– Trumbo’s jaw-dropping upper-decker on Wednesday also tied the O’s with the 1996 Oakland A’s for the most home runs in June (55), and put them three shy of tying the 1987 Orioles and the 1999 Mariners for the most home runs in a single month in MLB history. Here’s to hoping that the O’s sluggers bring the lumber into Safeco tonight!
– Jones stayed in phenomenal form during his abbreviated visit to his hometown by going 3-for-9 with four runs, one homer and two RBI versus the Padres. The O’s five-time All-Star brings a ten-game hitting streak with him into a clash with his former club, and is hitting .409 with three home runs and ten RBI during that stretch. Over his last 30 games, Jones is hitting an impressive .307 with 11 homers and 29 RBI while in his last 15 games, AJ is hitting a stellar .369 with five home runs and 15 RBI.
– In case you didn’t know, Jonathan Schoop is lighting up the world at the moment…and the Padres pitching staff didn’t stand a chance. Schoop went 5-for-9 with five runs, four doubles and three RBI versus San Diego and currently boasts an 11-game hitting streak heading into the Emerald City. Over the course of his current streak, Schoop is batting an astronomical .489 at the dish with three homers and nine RBI.
– Machado also stayed red-hot against the Padres by going 5-for-9 with three runs and five RBI while extending his hitting streak to nine games. The Orioles star third baseman now owns a stellar .369 batting average with five homers and 22 RBI over his last 30 games. Over his last 15 games, Machado is hitting an insane .433 at the dish with three home runs and 12 RBI.
– Despite going 0-for-5 in Wednesday’s triumph, Chris Davis is still hitting .333 with three home runs and 11 RBI over his last seven games.
– Along with now leading the majors in home runs (23), Trumbo is also fourth in RBI (60). Can we please talk about an extension already?
– Last, but definitely not least, the Orioles current seven-game win streak is already the third seven-game winning tear of the season and their fourth of five win streak of five-plus. Hmm…sounds like a team that’s in first place!
That’s all for now, Orioles Nation! The first place O’s will now fly to Seattle to take on the Mariners in a four-game set before ending their West Coast trip with three games in LA.
Here’s to letting the good times continue to roll on the West Coast!
