Dillon Atkinson: Birds on the verge of some longball history

We've known over the past couple of seasons that the Orioles are a homer-happy ballclub. The offense lives and dies by the longball. But this season, they're in the hunt to make history three times with home runs. Two of the possible record-breaking moments are very imminent.

First, the record closest to beating is the most homers in June by a team. The mark to beat is 55, set by the 1996 Athletics. After three home runs in the Orioles' offensive explosion Tuesday night, the Birds sit at 54 with two games left to hit two more dingers to hold the record of their own. They're set to face off against Padres left-hander Christian Friedrich on Wednesday and Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker on Thursday night.

The next record, which would have to also come at the conclusion of Thursday night's contest in Seattle, is the all-time home run record for any team in any one month. This mark sits at 58, held by both the 1987 Orioles and 1999 Mariners. At 54 longballs in 26 games in June, the O's are averaging about 2.1 home runs per game. They'll need to step that up to 2.5 per game over the next two games in order to have sole possession of the major league record.

Before taking a look at the third home run record the ballclub is chasing, I'd like to mention how the Orioles would have already broken the first record and tied the second one if it wasn't for great defense. By my count, O's hitters have been robbed of four homers this month. The Royals' Lorenzo Cain robbed Pedro Alvarez on June 7. The Blue Jays' Michael Saunders robbed J.J. Hardy on June 19. The Rays' Taylor Motter robbed Adam Jones on June 24. Last night, the Padres' Melvin Upton Jr. robbed Hardy. This can make Orioles fans feel one of two ways: Either you're frustrated that the Orioles could have had the first record by now and be tied for the second one, or you're admiring that the Birds are so close to making history in the month of June even after being robbed of four home runs in the month.

Now, the final record - and the most obvious talked about record since the start of the season - is the major league record for homers hit in a single season. The mark, 264, was set by the Mariners in 1997. The 2016 Orioles are currently at 123 homers in 76 games, averaging about 1.62 per game. If they stay on this pace for the final 86 games, that averages out to about 139 longballs. Add that to the 123 already hit and you're at 262, just two shy of tying the record. It will be fun to watch in September or October how close the Birds are to the record.

The Orioles are possibly on the verge of making history in the next two days, as well at the end of the season. As of right now, the ballclub has five individuals who are on pace for over 20 home runs and may even sneak into the 30s or 40s. The leaders on the club through 76 games are Mark Trumbo (22), Chris Davis (19), Manny Machado (18), Jones (16), Jonathan Schoop (13), Alvarez (nine) and Matt Wieters (nine).

Dillon Atkinson blogs about the Orioles for Orioles Uncensored. Follow him on Twitter: @DAtkinsonOU. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.