The Orioles completed a sweep of the mini two-game series with the Padres on Wednesday thanks to a 10-3 victory, exercising a bit of payback for the two games San Diego won in Baltimore back in May.
The contributions came from up and down the roster.
Despite getting into a few jams, newly acquired Bud Norris was solid over six innings, allowing just one run, and picked up the win Tuesday night. Each position player in the starting lineup had atleast one hit on Wednesday, including Chris Davis, whose three-run home run still may not have landed. Miguel Gonzalez bounced back from two consecutive subpar outings to record his 14th quality start of the season, tying him for the team lead with Chris Tillman. The bullpen wasn’t scored upon and surrendered just three hits across six innings over the two games.
Perhaps the Oriole who stood out the most was Adam Jones. The San Diego native was nearly impossible to get out in the series. During the brief stint back home Jones had seven hits in nine at-bats with a home run, two RBI, and four runs scored. He also stole his 10th base of the year.
His four hits Tuesday tied a career-high and marked his first such game of 2013.
Three more singles on Wednesday gave him a six-game hit streak.
According to MLB.com’s data, Jones’ hits by pitch type were: curveball (2), changeup (2), and slider (3). Hits of any kind are good to see, but the two on changeups were a particularly welcomed sight. For the season he’s hitting just .220 against them, the second lowest average of any pitch type he’s seen in 2013 according to Brooks Baseball. Surprisingly, he didn’t connect on a fastball, which has been his second best pitch (.328). But there’s no reason to be picky.
For his career Jones is now hitting .464/.483/.679 in 28 at-bats versus the Padres and .550/.550/.850 over 20 at-bats in Petco Park. Wanting to perform well is always the goal, but doing it in front of friends and family is certainly an added bonus. Relatively small sample sizes, yes, but since the stats are available let’s put them to good use.
The Birds will look to continue their pursuit of the Red Sox and Rays this weekend against the Giants. A red hot Adam Jones definitely bodes well for the team’s chances. Hopefully the success he and the team enjoyed in Jones’ hometown carries over to the trip up the coast to San Francisco. If so, the next three games should be fun to watch.
Follow me on Twitter @GDixon410
