The Orioles are really starting to hit their stride offensively. One of the reasons I know this is because I am the one who had to add each of the nine homers they hit in this weekend's series win over the Reds into our nifty home run database. You probably noticed all the balls that flew into the Camden Yards bleachers, too, and if you haven't checked the stats recently, the Orioles are rising fast in many offensive categories.
Don't look now, but the Orioles, who struggled offensively in April and May, are ninth in batting average (.260), ninth in slugging (.324) and tied for 10th in home runs (80). They are 19th in runs (313). J.J. Hardy is batting .304. Nick Markakis is already up to .277. And Mark Reynolds is clear of the Mendoza line at .227.
Everybody wants to talk about the long balls, and rightfully so. As soon-to-be All Star center fielder Adam Jones put it Saturday after the Orioles and Reds combined for nine homers, "The damn ball was flying."
The Orioles have hit 32 home runs in 22 games in June, led by Hardy, the team's shortstop and leadoff hitter, with eight. Reynolds and Jones each have seven. (Somewhere, Earl Weaver has been smiling a lot this month.) But has the reason that the hitters have heated up been the fact that the weather in Baltimore -- and beyond -- has heated up, too? Some of the Orioles seemed to think so when talking with reporters after Sunday's win.
Manager Buck Showalter agreed to an extent.
"I'm not saying they're ballpark-aided or weather-aided. [Former hitting coach Terry Crowley] was so right last year about how this ballpark plays different times of the year, but most of those balls would have been out in most places," Showatler said.
"We squared up a lot of them. It's good to see. Over the course of a season, you seem to always seek and find your level. I think we're starting to see some of that, I hope."
Most of the folks in Birdland hope, too -- even if they are the guy who is responsible for maintaining the home run database.