Who stood out in the Orioles’ 12-6 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday afternoon?
In the spirit of hockey’s “three stars” system with the addition of home plate for honorable mentions and other notes, we go around the bases after the 77th game of the 2016 season.
1st — Mark Trumbo hit his 23rd home run of the year to regain sole possession of the major league lead after Cincinnati’s Adam Duvall had hit his 22nd earlier in the day. The two-run shot to left capped off a four-run fourth inning after the Orioles hadn’t collected as much as a baserunner in their first three frames against San Diego lefty Christian Friedrich. Trumbo added a two-run double in the top of the ninth to help eliminate any lingering doubt that Baltimore would win its seventh straight game. Trumbo has eclipsed his 2015 total for home runs in 217 fewer plate appearances than he had a year ago.
2nd — Manny Machado drove in three runs and hit his 29th double of the season as he continues to play at an MVP-caliber level just shy of his 24th birthday. His RBI single in the fourth gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead, and he would aggressively advance to second on a pitch in the dirt before scoring on Trumbo’s long ball. Machado would later plate two with an automatic double in the ninth that provided more breathing room after the Padres had cut a 7-0 deficit to 7-3.
3rd — Jonathan Schoop extended his hitting streak to 11 in a row and doubled home the first run of the game in the top of the fourth. The young second baseman would add another double and a single in addition to crossing the plate three times in the victory. Schoop improved his average to .301 and is now sporting an .848 on-base plus slugging percentage.
Home — Yovani Gallardo carried a one-hit shutout into the sixth inning before running into trouble and giving up a three-run homer to Brett Wallace. However, he arguably showed his best stuff of the season and touched 92 miles per hour with his fastball in the sixth while also collecting two hits on the day. … Baltimore has scored 11 or more runs in three straight games. … The Orioles tied the major league record for home runs in the month of June when Trumbo hit their 55th to tie the 1996 Oakland Athletics. Baltimore is three shy of the record for homers in any month, an honor shared by the 1987 Orioles (May) and the 1999 Seattle Mariners (May). … Adam Jones reached bases three times and extended his hitting streak to a season-best 10 in a row. … The Orioles secured their third seven-game winning streak of the season after not having a single stretch of victories lasting that long from 2006-2015. … Beginning a four-game set in Seattle on Thursday night, Chris Tillman takes the hill against Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker.
