AL
Baltimore Orioles Cruising in June
Baltimore has indeed come a long way but the battle is just beginning.
Don’t look now but the Baltimore Orioles climbed to the top of the AL East standings in the month of June. The birds boasted an 18-10 record in June and this helped them gain a slim margin lead in the AL East. Buck Showalter has rallied his troops and put his team in a position to once again contend for the division.
Despite some early struggles, according to MLB.com the Orioles have played very well lately. They have compiled the eighth best batting average of .259 in Major League Baseball. Leading the charge for Baltimore in this department is Manny Machado. Machado has a .3o2 batting average on the season and he is second on the team in homeruns with 16. The 22-year-old also leads the team with 51 runs on the season.
There were some off nights in June but for the most part, Baltimore’s offense has been cruising. According to MLB.com, Baltimore is MLB’s third best team statistically in RBIs with 343. The O’s are also the fifth best team in homeruns with 97 and fifth in runs with 359. The Orioles’ success in these areas have contributed to their climb up the AL East standings.
Baltimore has indeed come a long way but the battle is just beginning. The AL East is a tightly-wound divisional race with one game separating the current first place Baltimore Orioles from the fourth place Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles’ recent success has put them just slightly ahead of their competition.
The Orioles were victorious in six out of their last ten games. Meanwhile, Toronto has won five of their last ten, Tampa Bay has won two of their last ten, and New York has won four of their last ten. The Boston Red Sox have the final position in the AL East sitting six games behind the O’s. However, like the Orioles, Boston has won six of their last ten games. The gap between first and last in the AL East could narrow rather quickly.
Baltimore has battled through some adversity this season and dealt with injury in the month of June. Adam Jones recent missed time due to an affliction with his right shoulder. The O’s have been successful in recent games overcoming this adversity and they will need to continue this trajectory in order to maintain their position in the AL East.
Tim Olewniczak
Tim is a proud alumnus of the University at Buffalo and a published historian. He previously wrote for TheHockeyWriters.com where he covered the Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres of the NHL. He has been writing for Legends On Deck since April 2015 covering the Baltimore Orioles.
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