This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BALTIMORE -- Good times are again happening at Camden Yards of late.
On Tuesday night, the Orioles notched their fifth consecutive victory by beating the Blue Jays, 11-6. Baltimore improved to 4-0 against American League East rival Toronto this year and moved two shy of its longest winning streak of the season (a seven-game run from April 16-24).
Let’s look at five notable stats from the O’s five-game win streak (all entering Wednesday):
1. Gunnar Henderson is hitting .533 (8-for-15) since being moved to the leadoff spot
As the 21-year-old’s bat started to get going, manager Brandon Hyde opted to move Henderson to the No. 1 hole. The results so far:
Saturday: 2-for-5 with a homer, one RBI and a run scored
Sunday: 3-for-5 with a double, a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored
Tuesday: 3-for-5 with a grand slam, four RBIs and a run scored
It’s a wise move to get Henderson to the plate as often as possible right now. After batting .201 through 50 games entering June, he’s hitting .483 (14-for-29) this month.
“It just goes to show me that no matter what you’re going through, you’re going to get through it,” Henderson said. “Just keep swinging and just keep trusting the process.
“It’s hard to do. I’d be the first one to tell you, it’s really hard to do in the moment. But you’ve just got to really trust it.”
2. Ryan O'Hearn's home OPS is up to 1.311 through 10 games
This is the type of production the left-handed-hitting O’Hearn hoped was possible after he was traded from Kansas City to Baltimore this past offseason and learned he’d be playing more often at Camden Yards. The 29-year-old is 13-for-31 (.419) at home this season.
This past weekend, O’Hearn tormented his former team, going 5-for-5 with two RBIs and four runs scored, reaching base in all seven of his plate appearances over two games vs. the Royals.
“Nothing but love for them over there,” O’Hearn said. “I think any time you have success against your old team, it feels good. But I wouldn’t say ‘revenge game’ or anything like that. Just feels good to get to play and to compete, get comfortable up there. I feel as confident as I ever have in the box right now.”
3. Aaron Hicks has reached base in all 11 of his games with the O’s
The Orioles signed Hicks on May 30 hoping he could help offset the loss of Cedric Mullins (on the injured list with a right groin strain). The team was confident the 33-year-old Hicks was still better than he showed while slashing .188/.263/.261 in 28 games this season with the Yankees, who released him.
Hicks is 12-for-33 (.364) with two homers and five RBIs since arriving in Baltimore. According to The Elias Sports Bureau, his 11-game on-base streak is six shy of the team record (since 1954) for the longest by a player to begin his Orioles tenure. That mark is held by Marty Cordova, who had a 17-game on-base streak from April 12-May 1, 2002.
“He’s given us a big boost since he’s been here,” Hyde said of Hicks.
4. Adam Frazier's 2023 homer total matches his output from '21 and '22 combined
Frazier has never been a huge power threat during his eight years in the big leagues. His career high for home runs in a season is 10, which he reached in both 2018 and '19 for the Pirates.
On Tuesday, Frazier belted a two-run home run, his eighth of the 2023 season. That matches his totals from '21 (five in 155 games between Pittsburgh and San Diego) and '22 (three in 156 games for Seattle) combined. And the 31-year-old needed only 64 games with Baltimore to achieve that feat.
“We’ve been making some changes in the cage, and it’s paying off,” Frazier said. “I’m not necessarily trying to hit homers, but to be able to drive the ball like I’ve been doing is pretty good.”
5. The Orioles (42-24) are 18 games above .500 for the first time since July 25, 2016
Baltimore has its best record since it was 58-40 during the 2016 season, which resulted in the club’s most recent postseason appearance. The last time the O’s were more than 18 games above .500? It was when they were 96-66 at the end of '14, the year of their most recent AL East division title.