Streaking O's getting hits from all over lineup
BALTIMORE -- It wasn't too long ago that the Orioles were on a 19-inning scoreless streak against the Marlins.
That was from May 22-24, and all the talk was about how the O's lineup couldn't hit. After Friday's 11-3 win over the Yankees, the chatter was the complete opposite.
Baltimore collected 11 runs on 16 hits on Friday for its fifth straight victory and seventh win in its past eight games. The Orioles have scored 30 runs over the five-game streak after scoring just 29 runs the prior 10 games. Friday's total marked the most runs the team had scored since putting up 18 on the Red Sox on April 26.
"We're definitely swinging the bats well," Chris Davis said. "I think it's big for us to go up there and continue to have great at-bats -- not just go up there hacking, but really have an approach, have a plan and stick to it, and I think that's going to pay off over the course of the season.
Video: NYY@BAL: Davis crushes a three-run shot to right
Perhaps what made the Orioles' display even more impressive was that they did it against a pitcher who dominated them his last time out. Michael Pineda struck out 16 in seven innings vs. Baltimore on May 10, but Orioles manager Buck Showalter and his players agreed Pineda was not the same pitcher on Friday. But he still was not a poor one, nonetheless.
"You always want to play up to the competition, and he's had a lot of success against us in the past, and we knew we had a challenge ahead of us tonight," Davis said. "We did our homework."
Every Orioles starter collected a hit on Friday, while Davis picked up a season-high four RBIs, Jimmy Paredes had three hits and Manny Machado scored three times.
Davis got the team going in the first with a single off the right-field wall to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead, and he hit a 1-0 pitch over the right-field scoreboard in the third for his 13th homer of the season. Caleb Joseph also had a big night, going 3-for-4 with a double, a solo home run and two runs scored.
"I took a few extra hacks yesterday just to just kind of iron some things out, and that's the luxury of having [catcher] Matt [Wieters] back," Joseph said. "Having some time to figure some stuff out. Just glad to contribute to the offense a little bit."
Video: NYY@BAL: Joseph slams a home run to left-center
With Friday's win, the Orioles are back to .500 (30-30) for the first time since May 5 (12-12),
"Guys in this clubhouse, a lot of them have been through this rigorous season, and especially last year we started out kind of the same," Joseph said. "Right about now is right when we started taking off, and we feel confident about who we have in the clubhouse."