A look at the Orioles' hot hitting with RISP and Bowie's walk-off grand slam

It is an important stat, but according to many that play in and/or cover the game, hitting with runners in scoring position is not a skill - and certainly not one a player can work on like he can in trying to improve his power, speed or fielding.

It is a stat the Orioles are excelling in so far during the 2015 season. Their team batting average with RISP is .317 and that leads the American League.

Since April 26, when the Orioles scored 18 runs at home against Boston, they are batting .488 (21-for-43) with runners in scoring position:

* April 26: Went 11-for-20 against Boston.
* April 29: Went 5-for-10 against Chicago.
* May 1: Went 0-for-0 against Tampa Bay.
* May 2: Went 2-for-5 against Tampa Bay.
* May 3: Went 3-for-8 against Tampa Bay.

It sure was important yesterday, when all three run-scoring hits for the team came not only with RISP but with RISP and two outs. In the sixth, Rey Navarro had an RBI single. In the seventh, Jimmy Paredes had an RBI double and Adam Jones a two-run single.

So far, seven Orioles are batting .375 or better with RISP and six are batting .400 or better. That is rather good.

Six hitters excelling in batting average with RISP:
.545 - Paredes at 6-for-11
.500 - Jonathan Schoop at 2-for-4
.467 - Delmon Young at 7-for-15
.417 - Travis Snider at 5-for-12
.400 - Jones at 8-for-20
.400 - Caleb Joseph at 6-for-15
.375 - Chris Davis at 9-for-24

Of his six hits in such situations, Paredes has three doubles and a homer. Jones has two doubles a homer and is 3-for-6 with a homer with RISP and two outs.

On the other end of the spectrum are Manny Machado, batting just .158 (3-for-19), and Alejandro De Aza, at .083 (1-for-12) with RISP.

But scouts don't put a grade on a batter's success in these scenarios like they can grade the hit tool or the the running tool. There is no 20-80 scouting scale for batting in clutch situations. Just the stats we have to look at.

Some of these players can't keep up this pace. We know that, just as Jones won't bat .402 this year, though that is his batting average right now.

Still, for the Orioles, this stat may be particularly important. We know they don't have much team speed and they don't often excel in advancing runners, so driving them in when they can is important. The O's rely on homers, but when they don't come, getting a big hit with a runner in scoring position is a welcome sight.

Maybe the key for a hitter here is to "not have an emotional at-bat," as Buck Showalter likes to say. Easy to say, but harder to do, I would think when the stadium is roaring and the bases are loaded in a tie game in the last of the eighth. Maybe even harder to do with your team trailing.

Over the years, I've heard some hitters say they try to keep in mind that the pressure is on the pitcher, too. He has to throw a strike and he can hear the same crowd and might have the same anxiety as the hitter.

This sport has a lot of stats and provides a lot of action to analyze. Right now, we may not have a great reason why the Orioles are on a roll with RISP, but they are and it's been big for the offense.

Baysox walk-off: The Double-A Bowie Baysox had a pretty good Sunday. Trailing Harrisburg 8-4 in the eighth inning, they rallied to win 11-9 on Chris O'Brien's pinch-hit walk-off grand slam with two outs in the last of the ninth.

Bowie came up in the ninth trailing 9-7. They had two on with two outs when David Freitas was hit by a pitch to load them up and O'Brien came on to pinch hit. He hit the first pitch for the slam and the win.

O'Brien's blast was his team-leading fourth home run and extended his team-high hitting streak to 12 games. It was the first Baysox pinch-hit homer since Robbie Widlansky hit one on July 11, 2011, the first grand slam since Chris Marrero on Aug. 19, 2014 and the first walk-off home run since Freitas last Aug. 17.

Tonight, right-hander Branden Kline (2-1, 4.74 ERA) takes the mound for a 6:35 p.m. game against Akron. The Orioles' J.J. Hardy and Ryan Flaherty are expected to play for the Baysox as they begin major league rehab assignments.

You can click here to watch the walk-off slam with Baysox broadcaster Adam Pohl on the call.