Blaze Alexander has been surprise contributor to Orioles’ offense; O’s-Padres lineups

BALTIMORE—Of late, the Orioles’ offense has been among the best in baseball. Since May 3^rd, the Orioles have 331 hits, second in the majors to the San Francisco Giants’ 361. During that time, the Orioles have scored 190 runs, most in the American League and fourth in baseball.

They’ve hit 41 home runs since May 16^th, tied for the major league lead with Houston and Seattle.

“For each guy, it’s kind of zeroing in on how the league’s trying to attack them and really try to make those adjustments day-to-day,” Orioles hitting coach Dustin Lind said. “Take at-bat by at-bat and make those small course corrections here and there for each guy.”

After a rough start, first baseman Pete Alonso has hit 16 home runs and driven in 48 runs. He’s on pace for 36 home runs and 108 RBIs, and his average of .252 is just a point below his lifetime .253 average, though his .808 OPS is well below his lifetime .853.

Nine of his 16 home runs have been to right field.

“With the way the ballpark is put together here, it’s really conducive to him hitting oppo home runs, which is really cool to see,” Lind said.

Utility player Blaze Alexander, who’s playing third base on Sunday against the San Diego Padres, is hitting .297 — .384 since May 1^st, highest in the majors.

“The way Blaze has been able to hit line drive after line drive has been really, really impressive,” Lind said. “Especially given some of the more significant swing adjustments that he made over the course of the offseason, how much work he put into that during spring training. To see that come out on the field has been really, really exciting for obviously him, but also the coaching staff as well.”

Assistant hitting coach Brady North has worked with Alexander and worked together at Yankee Stadium early last month.

“They just kind of adjusted the way that his weight was distributed,” Lind said. “And he’s really taken off after that. His ability to put the ball forward has really improved as a result. The line drives have been really cool to see as well.”

Notes: Brandon Young, Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz will start for the Orioles in Seattle in the three-game series that begins Tuesday night. The Orioles, who are off on Monday, follow the Mariners’ series with three games each at the Los Angeles Dodgers (June 19^th-21^st) and Angels (June 22^nd-24^th). The Orioles return home to play the Washington Nationals on June 26^th.

Orioles-Padres lineups

Orioles

Taylor Ward-LF

Gunnar Henderson-SS

Adley Rutschman-DH

Pete Alonso-1B

Samuel Basallo-C

Leody Taveras-RF

Colton Cowser-CF

Jeremiah Jackson-2B

Blaze Alexander-3B

Trey Gibson-RHP

Padres

Fernando Tatis Jr.-2B

Jackson Merrill-CF

Manny Machado-3B

Xander Bogaerts-SS

Gavin Sheets-1B

Samad Taylor-LF

Nick Solak-DH

Jase Bowen-RF

Rodolfo Durán-C

Walker Buehler-RHP

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