O's game blog: A look at the June homers and Futures Game selections

The Orioles used the longball early and late last night to beat the White Sox. Home runs are a big part of the Orioles' offense and they lead the majors with 33 in June. The Orioles hit 16 homers in April, 37 in May and now 33 in June. They are also spreading the wealth more. They had just six players hit homers in April and nine in May. This month, 12 different Orioles have contributed to the homer surge. Orioles June homers: 8 - Adam Jones 6 - Chris Davis 3 - Nelson Cruz, Nick Markakis 2 - Caleb Joseph, David Lough, Manny Machado, Steve Pearce, Delmon Young 1 - Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy, Jonathan Schoop It was just a few days ago that the offense was struggling. The O's had scored just 21 runs over a seven-game stretch, but now they have produced 20 runs on 36 hits with nine homers the last three games. It is also encouraging that while the club is hitting more homers in June than the first two months, they are not mostly coming from just one player in Cruz. He hit six in April, 13 in May and three in June. He's got more company in hitting the ball out this month and that bodes well for the offense. Tonight at the Yard, Miguel Gonzalez (4-4, 4.41 ERA) faces left-hander Jose Quintana (3-7, 3.87 ERA). Quintana gave up just two runs over seven innings in his last start against Minnesota, but has pitched to an ERA of 6.23 over his past three starts. Gonzalez gave up four runs in five innings Tuesday against Tampa Bay in his first start since coming off the disabled list. He is 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA over five home appearances this year. The Orioles look to keep their roll going tonight. They have won three in a row, five of six and eight of 12 heading into the second game of this series. Earlier today, two Orioles minor leaguers were named to play in the All-Star Futures Game that will take place at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, at Target Field in Minneapolis. Single-A Delmarva pitcher Hunter Harvey is on the Team USA roster and Double-A Bowie outfielder Dariel Alvarez, a Cuban native, was named to the World Team roster. Major League Baseball, in conjunction with the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau, MLB.com, Baseball America and the 30 major league clubs, selected the 25-man rosters for each club. Each major league organization is represented, and players from all full-season minor leagues were eligible to participate. Some teams, like the Orioles, got two players named to the game and some got just one. Click here for more on the game and to see the complete rosters. Last year, the Orioles were represented by pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and outfielder Henry Urrutia on the World Team and first baseman Christian Walker was a late addition to the Team USA roster. Walker could have easily made this team this season with the big year he is having, but did not. Orioles in the Futures Game the last six years: 2008 - Jake Arrieta (U.S.) 2009 - Brian Matusz (U.S.), Chris Tillman (U.S.) 2010 - Zach Britton (U.S.) 2011 - Manny Machado (U.S.), Jonathan Schoop (World) 2012 - Manny Machado (U.S.), Dylan Bundy (U.S.) 2013 - Eduardo Rodriguez (World), Henry Urrutia (World), Christian Walker (U.S.)