This story was originally published by Dead Spin
The Baltimore Orioles have looked rejuvenated at the plate since returning from the All-Star break.
After putting up nine runs on Friday and eight more on Saturday, Baltimore’s hot bats have propelled the team into Sunday’s series finale against the Texas Rangers in Arlington with the chance to secure a three-game sweep.
Baltimore’s 16 runs so far this series match its total over the final seven games leading into the break. The Orioles went 2-5 during that stretch and scored fewer than three runs in each loss.
Jordan Westburg, Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn each homered for Baltimore in Saturday’s 8-4 win, giving the Orioles seven long balls so far in the series.
Westburg’s three-hit effort on Saturday came after he entered the day 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts over his previous four games.
“I needed that one,” Westburg said. “Been scuffling a little bit in my own mind. … Not going to be too results-oriented, but it felt good to put together competitive at-bats.”
O’Hearn has put together plenty of those in this series. He has reached base in six of his 10 plate appearances, including five times on Saturday. Anthony Santander, meanwhile, has four hits and six RBIs over the series’ first two games.
Overall, Baltimore has banged out 23 hits and has taken 10 walks to close within one win of its sixth series sweep this season. The Orioles hold the American League’s best record at 60-38 and trail the Philadelphia Phillies by two wins for the most in baseball.
“That’s why they’re at where they’re at,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “They have some talent over there. They hit a lot of balls out of the ballpark, which we’ve seen the last couple days. … You gotta play your best, pitch your best and score some runs to beat this club. They’re tough.”
After winning nine of 13 to close out the first half, Texas has slipped six games behind the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West and resides 7 1/2 games out of the league’s final wild-card spot.
Leody Taveras and Nathaniel Lowe each have two hits this series to lead the Rangers, who struck out 13 times on Saturday after fanning 10 times on Friday.
Texas will look to salvage the series when it sends left-hander Andrew Heaney (3-10, 3.79 ERA) to the mound against Baltimore right-hander Dean Kremer (4-5, 4.38).
Heaney, 33, has made eight appearances (seven starts) against the Orioles over his 11-year career, going 3-3 with 6.69 ERA. He tallied a season-high 10 strikeouts over seven innings against Baltimore in the Rangers’ 11-2 road win on June 30.
In his most recent outing on July 12, Heaney gave up three runs (two earned) in five innings in Texas’s 6-3 road loss to Houston.
Kremer has produced mixed results in his three starts since returning from a right triceps strain that he sustained in May. He has surrendered no runs, five runs and two runs over those three outings — each of which lasted between four and five innings — for a 4.61 ERA over that stretch.
Last Sunday against the visiting New York Yankees, Kremer allowed a pair of runs on four hits and two walks over 4 2/3 frames.
The 28-year-old is 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA in three regular-season starts against the Rangers.
–Field Level Media
