The Orioles’ first winning month in five years, by the numbers

The calendar has flipped from one month to the next, and for the first time in a long time, the Orioles probably didn’ t want it to. Since going 17-12 in August 2017, the Orioles have played 24 full months, two years’ worth. Baltimore won at least 10 games in six of eight months between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but in the other two, the Orioles didn’ t win 10 games total, going...

The calendar has flipped from one month to the next, and for the first time in a long time, the Orioles probably didn’t want it to.

June marked the first full calendar month in which Baltimore posted a winning record since August 2017, with the Orioles’ 14-12 showing undoubtedly representing the best stretch of baseball they have played during this rebuild. It’s not overwhelmingly impressive, but given the quality of baseball that has been on the display in Baltimore since 2018, it’s an uptick worth recognizing.

They’ll look to build on it in July, but before they do so, here’s a look back at numbers that stand out from their impressive June.

15

Since going 17-12 in August 2017, the Orioles have played 24 full months, two years’ worth. Forget a winning record: They failed to win even double-digit games in 15 of them. They had no months with 10 or more wins in 2018, when they lost a franchise-record 115 games, and only one such month in 2019, a 12-12 July that represents the only non-losing complete month of this stretch. Baltimore won at least 10 games in six of eight months between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but in the other two, the Orioles didn’t win 10 games total, going 5-23 in May 2021 and 4-24 in August 2021.

13

Adley Rutschman began June in a 1-for-17 rut and closed the month going 0-for-7 in the two games after the Orioles clinched a winning month. Between, he recorded 13 extra-base hits — 10 doubles and three home runs — in a 15-game span. The only other Orioles to do that before turning 25: Manny Machado, Cal Ripken Jr., Don Baylor and Boog Powell. None of them did it in as few plate appearances as Rutschman.

6

Including Rutschman, the Orioles had six players finish June with an OPS above .775, with the group being the players who regularly fill the top two-thirds of manager Brandon Hyde’s lineups: Cedric Mullins (.776), Trey Mancini (.782), Anthony Santander (.776), Austin Hays (.794), Ryan Mountcastle (.959) and Rutschman (.775). It marked the first time since June 2016 that six or more Orioles posted an OPS of .775 or better while receiving at least 75 plate appearances. Baltimore averaged over a run more per game in June (4.77) than it did entering the month (3.73).

2.17

A resurgent Orioles pitching staff played a key role in last month’s performance, but one group’s contributions were particularly noteworthy. Five of Baltimore’s pitchers joined the organization on waivers, meaning another team no longer found them deserving of a spot on its roster. That quintet — Austin Voth, Joey Krehbiel, Bryan Baker, Cionel Pérez and Jorge López — combined for a 2.17 ERA in June. On June 24, they handled all nine innings in a 4-1 victory over Chicago White Sox, limiting the reigning American League Central champions to one hit. Add in 10 innings without an earned run from Félix Bautista — who wasn’t a waiver claim but was released by the Miami Marlins as a teenager — and it’s clear why Baltimore’s bullpen entered Thursday ranked second in the majors in wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.

0

For López, this number holds multiple meanings. First of all, it’s his ERA for the month, as Baltimore’s closer allowed no earned runs in 13 2/3 innings with 17 strikeouts. It’s also the number of pitchers who threw at least as many innings as he did and posted a lower WHIP (0.366). Only one pitcher, Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase, entered Thursday having thrown more innings in June without surrendering an earned run, while Clase is also the only other reliever to record at least seven saves in June without blowing one. Four of López’s saves for the month required at least four outs; only two other pitchers have that many multi-inning saves on the whole season.

1.83

On April 10, in the Orioles’ third game of the season, the Tampa Bay Rays were roughing up Tyler Wells, and Dean Kremer began warming up in Baltimore’s bullpen. But when Wells exited after allowing four runs and recording five outs, Kremer didn’t enter the game, having suffered a left oblique strain that cost him nearly two months. In June, that pair of pitchers largely carried the Orioles’ rotation, combining for a 1.83 ERA. Kremer had a 1.29 mark himself, largely on the back of three straight scoreless starts to close the month; he’s only the third Oriole to work at least 18 2/3 scoreless innings over three starts since Hall of Famer Jim Palmer did it in 1978. Wells, meanwhile, has settled into the Orioles’ rotation after spending last year in their bullpen. He’s already pitched more innings than he did last season, with a 2.42 ERA in June leaving him at 3.23 through 15 starts.

4

Hays entered the month with three assists. He recorded four in June alone. Playing left field June 2, he threw out Seattle’s Jesse Winker trying to advance to third on a ball off Camden Yards’ new left field wall; the play is a favorite of center fielder Cedric Mullins. He waited nearly three weeks before recording another, then they came in bunches. On June 22 — the same day he went 4-for-4 to record a cycle in six innings — Hays threw out Washington’s Juan Soto at third as he tried to take another base on Josh Bell’s bloop single into center. A day later in Chicago, he helped keep Kremer’s line clean by throwing out a runner at home from right field and added a diving catch into foul territory later in the game. He came through again in Kremer’s next start Tuesday, preventing Seattle’s Abraham Toro from turning a single into a double by nabbing him at second. Hays’ seven outfield assists are tied for second in the majors.

7

For as well as the Orioles played relative to much of this rebuild, this number exemplifies the task that remains in front of them to reach the top of the AL East. Despite their first winning month in almost five years, the Orioles lost seven games in the division, with the New York Yankees (22-6) and Boston Red Sox (20-6) becoming the first teams from the same division to both post a winning percentage of at least .750 in the same calendar month, according to ESPN. The Toronto Blue Jays went 15-13, leaving the Orioles with no games gained, though they did gain two on the Tampa Bay Rays after the reigning AL East champs finished the month at 12-14. Baltimore enters July six games back in the wild-card race, though only three teams in the AL have worse records.

ORIOLES@TWINS

Friday, 8:10 p.m.

TV: MASN2

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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