The Baltimore Orioles’ “Hell Month” continued with NL East showdowns against the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.
As the injury blows keep coming, the Orioles keep getting stronger as a team. After two more series wins and a 5-2 week, the Orioles are now 12-5 through June as they head into their only off day, a much-needed one, at that.
Let’s see who stood out this week for the Birds and who needs to forget about this past week.
The Great: Corbin Burnes
It’s hard to overlook what Corbin Burnes is doing with the Baltimore Orioles. Birdland, for the most part, knew that Burnes was a bonafide front-line starter, but he is actually taking it to the next level.
Burnes has pitched at least five innings in all 15 of his starts and has allowed no more than three earned runs in any outing. He currently has 12 quality starts in and added two more to his season totals this week.
Burnes squared off against the Rays to close out a four-game series and then the Phillies to close out the series, both resulting in victories for the Orioles and Burnes.
This past week, Burnes went 2-0 with a 1.39 ERA across 13 innings of work and struck out 13 batters, allowing just two earned runs while walking only three batters.
For the season, Burnes has appeared in 15 games (15 starts), compiling an 8-2 record across 92.2 innings. He has struck out 89 batters while walking 24, and opponents are hitting just .209 against Burnes, as he has posted a WHIP off 1.04.
The Good: Gunnar Henderson
The Orioles’ young shortstop keeps finding ways to turn heads. Whether it’s flashy plays in the field or smashing a “Gunnar,” Henderson is turning into a superstar in Baltimore.
Henderson, who is currently the leading vote-getter for AL All-Star shortstops, turned in a week in which he gathered nine hits across six games.
Henderson has been on base at least once every game he has played since May 22 and has collected a hit in 13 of the 14 games he has played this month.
Henderson went 9-for-27 (.333 avg) this past week, hitting two home runs, collecting four RBIs and stealing a base. He also reclaimed the league-lead for lead-off home runs for the season, hitting his eighth on Sunday.
For the season, Henderson is slashing .274/.370/.588/.958 with 22 home runs, 49 RBIs and 56 runs scored. More than half of his hits (75) have gone for extra bases (12 doubles, four triples, 22 home runs) while adding on nine stolen bases without being caught.
The Ugly: Jordan Westburg
Westburg, who is having a strong sophomore season, could actually be on this list for his offense.
He has five hits in his last 24 at-bats (.208 average), though two of those hits are doubles and one a home run, while adding three RBIs. On top of Westburg’s off week offensively, it’s his defense that brings him to this list.
Playing in six games this past week, Westburg committed three errors after having none coming into the week. The usually-sure-handed infielder, Westburg’s errors were unusual and actually helped to make Sunday’s series finale a little adventurous.
While Westburg still possesses a .977 fielding percentage, we would expect better discipline in the field, including at the dish, going forward.
The Orioles had a much-needed day off on Monday in the Bronx before taking on the New York Yankees, who were also off Monday.
The series will feature the top three All-Star vote-getters, Aaron Judge (1,366,315), Juan Soto (1,252,020) and Adley Rutschman (792,857). After the Yankees series, the Birds head to Houston for a three-game set.
Will Burnes and Henderson continue to stay hot? Will Westburg get back on the right track? Find out next week when we return with our next edition of The Great, The Good & The Ugly.
Who stood out to you this week for the Birds? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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