BALTIMORE _ The faintest hint of stickiness in the air isn't the only thing that made it feel like summer has arrived this week at Camden Yards. As the calendar turned to June, the Orioles finally started hitting like a team whose bats were too big for their ballpark.
A night after their veteran stars put up double-digit runs to send the rival New York Yankees out of town, Thursday's 7-5 win to open a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox was powered by four home runs, creating the kind of festival atmosphere that hasn't often surrounded the Orioles this season.
Any issue taken with the Orioles offense not living up to its normally lofty production standards this season could center on the men in the heart of the lineup _ third baseman Manny Machado, right fielder Mark Trumbo and first baseman Chris Davis.
They've had their individual moments, but seldom have synced up for a massive day like this one. They were involved in everything Thursday.
Trumbo homered after a two-out Machado single in the first inning to stake a strong Wade Miley to a lead he'd never relinquish. It was the first of three hits Trumbo would have on the day.
Next time through the lineup, Davis stayed on an outside fastball and smashed it to center field. It marked just the second time this season that the men who led the majors in home runs in each of the past two years went deep in the same game.
Center fielder Adam Jones, the catalyst of Wednesday's 10-run output and an overall fair weather vane when it comes to determining which direction the Orioles offense is heading, added a home run of his own to open the sixth inning. That gave them a 4-1 lead before Machado and Trumbo singled to continue the inning and three runs scored on a towering blast by second baseman Jonathan Schoop.
Consider though that entering Thursday, 46.7 percent of the Orioles' 229 runs came on home runs, according to Baseball Prospectus. That's still in the top third of the league, but it's a good bit down from what has driven them in years past. Last season, it was a league-leading 51.88 percent, the highest percentage since 2010.
They've led the league in each of the past three seasons.
After scoring all seven runs that way Thursday, it was up to 48.3 percent, climbing back toward the top. Home runs aren't a cure-all, but they help. More important will be more at-bats by the men who are paid to produce in the heart of their batting order.
Over the past two nights, which represent the highest back-to-back run totals the Orioles have put up in two weeks, they all held their own.
Jones drove in five runs Tuesday, with Trumbo and Davis combining for the other five.
Schoop rediscovering his power stroke and keeping the bottom half of the lineup viable with catcher Welington Castillo back on the shelf will be pivotal. But the Orioles offense is predicated on the stretch from Jones at No. 2 through Davis at No. 5 being able to win games single-handedly.
As the team has begun to distance itself from a seven-game losing streak and found a rhythm offensively, they've done just that.
