O's bats entertaining to watch

There's nothing more entertaining than a well pitched Major League game, unless your team gets the big hit to upset the opponent's outing. And the Orioles have been getting more than their share of big hits. Did you know the O's have a team batting average .300 since the all star break? There are only 3 teams in the Major Leagues with a higher average since the break. The Rockies (.305), the Angels (.301), and the Mariners (.301), are the only teams with a higher batting average than the Orioles since the break. The O's are fun to watch because of the depth of the lineup. It's been an amazing season of contributions from top to bottom. Check out the recent trends. Brian Roberts: 14-game hitting streak in which he's batting .368 Nick Markakis: .472 AVG in his last nine games and 23-RBI since the All-Star break Melvin Mora: .405 AVG in his last 10 games and 32-RBI since the All-Star break, 2nd most in the AL Aubrey Huff: Hits in 23 of the 25 games since the All-Star break including a 19-game hitting streak Luke Scott: 6-game hitting streak in which he's batting .474 Jay Payton: 6-game hitting streak playing in place of the injured Adam Jones. Ramon Hernandez: .318 AVG with four HRs since the All-Star break. Lou Montanez: .429 AVG since promotion from Bowie. That balance enables the Orioles to be in position to win games day in and day out. Not much was expected of this group, and they have taken it to a consistent level. When the Orioles hosted Texas and took 2 out of 3 in the series, the Rangers' Marlon Byrd was impressed, saying, "They can flat out hit over there." The O's are 4th in the American League in Home Runs. And they do it with contributions from 1 through 9. The O's have 5 players with at least 15 Home Runs. They can strike from anywhere in the batting order. The Orioles are well aware that to become a contender they have to improve their team pitching. But they are already building a competitive lineup that gives them a chance to win each game, and it sure is a lot of fun to watch.

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