Galvis on getting back in lineup and trying to maintain a hot bat

Just when he was starting to hit on a team that could have used some offense, new Orioles shortstop Freddy Galvis had to miss four games. He suffered a sore left adductor/groin on April 26 against the New York Yankees. But he was back in the lineup over the weekend, starting at short for the last two games of the series at Oakland.

"I think it was like little by little," Galvis said via Zoom of that issue that kept him briefly on the bench. " After we came from Texas and Miami, where they have the turf, I think my legs started getting a little heavy. And then in the homestand, when it rained a little bit, my groin started getting a little bit tired. Since then, I just took a little bit to try to recover, and right now, I won't say I feel 100 percent, but I'm thinking I'm close to there."

After starting the season hitting .154 with a .429 OPS through his first 12 games, Galvis got his bat going. He was batting .361 over an 11-game stretch leading up to his injury.

"It's kind of tough," he said of missing time after his bat had heated up. "Most of the time, you try to get some good at-bats and hit the ball good. In the big leagues, that is a little bit hard sometimes. So that injury happened at that time, so for me, it was more try to stay focused and do some work in the cage on the days I didn't play. Try to have the same mentality that I was having. I think come back a few days ago and have the same approach. Try to play my game and keep doing it my way."

Galvis went 2-for-7 with an RBI in the two games at Oakland. It was a good overall weekend for the Orioles in taking a series from first-place club. And their struggling offense broke out a bit to produce 16 runs on 28 hits.

"It was really good," said Galvis. "I think as a team, we're playing better. Everybody is doing a little bit. So we try to have a plan and stick with the plan and we have a good result. That's what we did against Oakland and we're going to try and keep doing it. When you have those kind of plans as a team, and you stick with it long term, it will be good for us. That is what we are doing right now. Everyone is doing what we're supposed to do. We're not trying to be heroes; we try to just be on base, move the runners and drive that run in. And that is how you win games."

For 24 games on the year, Galvis is batting .266/.318/.443/.761 with six doubles, a triple, two homers and seven RBIs. His OPS+ is 117 right now, 17 percent ahead of league average, and if maintained, would be a career high.

Galvis is batting .340/.386/.585 (18-for-53) in his last 17 games. He recorded his 900th career hit, a single in the sixth inning on Saturday at Oakland. He is approaching 100 career homers with 97 heading into tonight's series opener at Seattle.

During a pandemic, Galvis said the Orioles still cannot completely bond as a team on the road like previous teams he has played with. But they are making the best of it.

"It's really tough, really tough," he said. "During the season sometimes, you spend time together after the game, getting something to eat and doing stuff like a team. And the last years two years have been kind of bad.

"But we try to compensate out here on the field. Try to talk to each other, try to communicate. Have a plan for the game, try to commit to the plan as a team. I think it's the only way right now. Try to talk and spend time with your teammates when we are here at the field. Try to do the best we can do. The last two years have been really tough and I hope everything gets better soon."

Tonight the Orioles are making their first visit to Seattle since June 20-23, 2019. In their last 20 games against the Mariners, the O's have gone 7-13, and in their last 10, they are 4-6 against Seattle. The Orioles are 34-56 all-time at T-Mobile Park.