The Paredes-Cano connection and a look at the O's success at Fenway Park

Is Jimmy Paredes starting to get his bat going again? It looks like the answer is yes.

Paredes was batting .353 in late May, but, about two weeks ago, his average dipped below .300. It is now back at .305. Over his last seven games, Paredes is 10-for-26 (.385) with two homers and seven RBIs.

In 51 games for the season, Paredes has nine doubles, two triples, eight homers and 33 RBIs along with a .329 OBP, a .488 slugging percentage and an OPS of .816. He is batting .326 with an OPS of .881 against right-handed pitching.

It was about a month ago that I first noticed a segment that aired on MLB Network where analyst Eric Byrnes compared Paredes' swing to that of former Yankee and current Seattle Mariner Robinson Cano.

Take a minute to check out this video and you will see they look almost identical:

As you may have figured out, that was not just by accident. Paredes, Cano and 2014 Oriole Nelson Cruz are all from the Dominican Republic, and work out together with a larger group of players over the winter.

Here is Paredes on his connection to Cano and why he tries to mimic his swing:

"We have practiced together and we do the same drills," Paredes said. "He works hard on his hitting and when I go hit, if he sees me doing something wrong, he tells me. He'll say, 'Hey, what are you doing? Focus and practice hard. Just like a game.'

"We have good communication. We have a few guys that practice together. He always told me, 'Work hard and you can be good. Never have your head down.' He always invites me to practice with him. He is very impressive as a hitter and a lot of players want to be like him. I want to be a good hitter like that, so I watch him. He's amazing.

"I have seen videos and when I started to play professional ball, my swing is like his since the start of my career. I put a few pointers in there to help me. It has helped me a lot. I have always followed him as a player."

When the Seattle Mariners were in town last month, I asked Cruz about Paredes and his improvement this year.

"He's very confident right now," Cruz said. "He came up last year and looked pretty good. I remember telling him he had the bat to play in the big leagues. He just had to find a position. We had a chance to train together in the Dominican. Me, Robbie and him. I saw last year the intensity he brings and he wants it really badly."

Of course, this year Paredes is outhitting Cano, but he can only dream of having a similar career.

Meanwhile, the Orioles can dream and wonder if they have found a player coming into his own at 26. The Orioles first acquired Paredes off waivers on Feb. 15, 2014, but two days later, they lost him via waivers to Kansas City. But last July 24, they purchased his contract from the Royals and he was back. Now they're pretty glad they made that move.

Paredes has remarkable stats this year when batting with runners in scoring position. He is batting .463 with three homers, 26 RBIs and an OPS of 1.223 with RISP. With RISP and two outs, he is batting .667 (10-for-15) with a homer, 14 RBIs and an OPS of 1.600.

Now the Orioles need to find a position for Paredes, as it is clear they are reluctant to play him at second or third base. There is talk of trying him in the outfield in instructional league and/or winter ball. Paredes is just 26. He will not even be arbitration-eligible until after the 2016 season. He is under team control through the 2019 season.

The Orioles may have a real find here, a player whose batting style is like that of Cano. This year, at times, he has put up Cano-like numbers.

Will O's have fun in Fenway?: The Orioles split a four-game series at Fenway Park in April and in recent years they've done well at Fenway, where they open a three-game series tonight.

The Orioles went 7-2 there in 2012, 5-4 in 2013 and 7-3 last year. That adds up to a 21-11 mark at Fenway Park since 2012.

The Orioles have won seven of their last nine games in Boston dating to last year. Overall they are 7-3 this year against Boston winning the last five games between the teams.

If they win the season series this year, they will have four straight season series wins against Boston for the first time since 1964-67.

The Red Sox (31-40) have won four of their last six games, scoring 40 runs. They scored 24 over the weekend in taking two of three at Kansas City.