Bob Haynie: Jones Provides HR Heroics For The Orioles
It had been 83 at-bats since Adam Jones hit his last home run. The way things were going, it seemed more like 883 at-bats since the Orioles All-Star centerfielder last reached the seats. That shot on May 11 against the Toronto Blue Jays felt like it happened ages ago.
On Thursday afternoon in Houston, Jones ended that 20-game homerless drought with a bang.
Jones crushed a slider from Astros reliever Chad Qualls over the leftfield wall at Minute Maid Park to give the Orioles a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning. Closer Zach Britton then proceeded to finish off a five-out save as the Birds avoided the sweep and ended their five-game losing streak.
With five hits in his last two games, Jones appears to be ready to bust out of an offensive funk that has lasted way too long.
After hitting .400 in April with five HR's, 19 RBI's and slugging at a .707 clip, Jones slumped badly in May. He hit just .239 with one HR, seven RBI's and finished the month with an anemic .284 slugging percentage.
Obviously, that is not All-Star caliber production.
Fortunately, we all know that AJ is capable of much more. It is a proven fact that we have all been witness to.
On my radio show "Sports Rehab", I said before the season that 2015 was going to be the year that Adam Jones would take his offensive game to another level. I truly believe that we have yet to see his career season.
I have said many times that Jones is already the best all-around centerfielder in Baltimore Orioles history. This is coming from a guy who calls Paul Blair his all-time favorite baseball player.
My point is that Jones has already accomplished enough to be considered one of the team's all-time greats.
And he is not done yet.
Let's hope that the last two games are the springboard for a big summer for Adam Jones.
He is the best player on the team. If the Orioles want to sniff the playoffs, they will need him to play to that level.
