Bob Haynie: Orioles Getting It Done With RISP
The Baltimore Orioles are one of the hottest teams in baseball heading into this weekend's series against the Cleveland Indians at Camden Yards. The Birds, who just finished a 5-3 road trip, have won 15 of their last 20 games to move to within two games of first place in the AL East.
At 38-34, the Orioles are a season-high four games over .500. Over their last seven series, they are an outstanding 6-0-1. They went 7-1 during their last home stand and don't appear to be slowing down.
One of the main reasons that the Birds have been flying high has been their ability to hit with runners in scoring position.
For the season, the Orioles are hitting .320 as a team with RISP. That mark is the best in all of Major League Baseball. Over their last six games, they are hitting .441 (26-for-59) with RISP.
DH Jimmy Paredes leads the majors with a .455 (20-for-44) average with runners in scoring position. C Caleb Joseph has been strong as well as he is hitting .361 (13-for-36) with RISP.
The Orioles have scored 125 runs in June which is ranks second behind Toronto (137) in MLB. The fact that they hit well in the clutch obviously helps when it comes to run production.
If the Orioles can keep up this pace throughout the summer, they will be in contention until the end. Hopefully, the skill of hitting with RISP will ultimately help put them over the top in the division.