Looks like Luke is locked in

Did you ever notice that Luke Scott seldom hits what some might call a "cheap homer." One of those balls where the outfielder leaps at the wall and it just goes over his glove. No, he usually hits the kind where the outfielder doesn't need to bother running out near the wall, because the ball is sailing well over it. Like his two-run blast off Minnesota's Anthony Slama last night. He turned around a 94-MPH fastball on a 1-1 count, driving it 394 feet to right field. It gave the O's a 3-2 lead in the last of the sixth vs. the Twins. Scott, who hit two homers vs. Tampa Tuesday, looks like he is in the midst of another one of those sizzling hot streaks. In five games since he returned from the DL, he is 9 for 20 with three homers and 6 RBI. He has an eight-game batting streak dating to back before he injured his hamstring and is now batting .288 on the season. So he has kind of picked up where he left off at bat. "Yeah. When I went on the disabled list, it was really frustrating for me not only to get injured but I really felt like things were picking up for me. I was starting to get my swing where I wanted it and to have that happen, it was a tough blow for me. But I dug deep and said, 'I can't control this circumstance, this situation.' I just get on my knees and say my prayers and I'll do what I can while I'm down there, play my at-bats in my head, look for my swing on the tee and be ready whenever I have the opportunity to come back," Scott said. Slama threw a pitch down and in that had some pace on it, but Scott turned that pitch around to give the O's and Jeremy Guthrie a lead after Joe Mauer had put Minnesota ahead in the top of that inning. "It wasn't a bad pitch. The guy had a pretty good arm. The ball was coming out of his hand pretty good. I was just looking for a spot down in, I was able to get the bat-head to it and good things happen when you get the ball on the bat." Scott does not have enough at bats to qualify for league leadership in at bats per home run. But if he did, he would be 7th in the AL, averaging a homer every 16.2 at bats. Other notes from Friday's win: *With a 3-2 victory, the O's are now 3-50 when scoring three runs or less. *The O's bullpen has pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings over the last three games and the pen's ERA is 1.71 over the last 13 games. *The O's scored six runs in the first four games of this homestand and have scored 18 in the last four. *Craig Tatum is 8 for 18 over his last five games while Felix Pie is 1 for 14 over his past four. *The O's are just 2 for 22 the last three games with runners in scoring position. The Orioles are batting just .162 (12 for 74) with RISP during this homestand. *Miguel Tejada went 2 for 4 and and now has 32 multi-hit games to tie Nick Markakis for the club lead. In case you missed it here yesterday, here is a story I published Friday with quotes from O's scouting director Joe Jordan. He told me that contract talks are now underway with Manny Machado and also talked about the fact the O's have signed just one of their top ten picks so far.