The month of June was crazy for the Orioles, playing 29 games in 30 days and being the only team to do that in the month and just the third team to do it this season.
While fans were worried about this month, it was obvious that the players weren’t, as the O’s busted out 17 wins out of the 29 games and leave the month of June in first place of the AL East.
The offense has to be credited the most, as they had to endure 1,023 at-bats this month, which was the highest by a team in 2024. No team has had 1,000+ at-bats in a month since the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves in August of 2023.
The last time a team had more at-bats than the Orioles were the Cleveland Guardians with 1,028 at-bats in September of 2022. Despite the crazy at-bats, the Orioles slashed a clean .273/.333/.513 and had the second best OPS at .846.
The biggest accomplishment for the Orioles is that they are now just the third team in history to have 60+ home runs in a single month. The Birds finished the month of June with a total of 60 home runs on 279 hits.
Along with the great hitting, the O’s pitching staff was also top tier, having the eighth lowest ERA of 3.73.
Despite all the wonderful stats, four players really showed out this month. Let’s dive into who stood out most.
Gunnar Henderson
The Most Valuable Oriole by far this season, Henderson’s month of June just showed that he could not be held down.
In 27 games, Henderson slashed .355/.445/.673 with a 1.118 OPS, finishing sixth in the league in OPS for June. Henderson tied with rival Red Sox Jarren Duran with 39 hits this past month and was one of just six players to have more than 10 doubles.
Henderson has been an MVP front-runner since the start of the season, and with him hitting eight of his 26 home runs this month, his campaign for the illustrious award continues forward.
Corbin Burnes
In the month of June, there was a comment made about a possible mistake in trading away Joey Ortiz and D.L. Hall for Corbin Burnes. Well, the further we get into the season, the more fair the trade becomes, as Ortiz is breaking out in Milwaukee, and Burnes is the ace of the best team in the toughest division in baseball.
For the month, Burnes had a 2.12 ERA in five starts, as he struck out 28 batters and only walked four in 34 innings pitched. He also had a WHIP of one and held batters to a .231 batting average.
Burnes has been the perfect ace for this Orioles team and is a possible All-Star in the coming weeks. He also celebrated the birth of his twin daughters this month, so congratulations to him and his wife.
Anthony Santander
We had a buffet of Tony Taters this past month, and we are 100% satisfied.
Santander led all of Major League Baseball with 13 home runs in June, and he only had 29 total hits, meaning that 44.8% of his hits in June went over a wall.
Santander slashed a clean .274/.325/.670 with a .995 OPS and was really effective with 26 RBIs. He is the second Oriole to surpass the 20-homer mark this season and is looking like a possible All-Star starter in Arlington.
Keegan Akin
When deciding on a second pitcher, the first name that clicked was, of course, closer Craig Kimbrel. With that said, Keegan Akin had a very underrated month of June that no one talked about.
In 11 games for Akin this past month, he held batters to a .150 batting average in 17.1 innings. He only gave up three earned runs, walked three batters and struck out 20.
Akin has pitched in 35 games this season and has a respectable 3.38 ERA and a WHIP of 0.96. He’s been a solid left-handed option for manager Brandon Hyde this season.
We also had two MLB debuts this month for the Birds. Infielder Connor Norby debuted in Toronto on June 4, and his first hit was a home run. The other debut was Cade Povich on June 6, when he collected his first MLB strikeout.
Below is a list of special moments from the month of June:
- June 1: Ryan Mountcastle has a two-home-run day against the Tampa Bay Rays
- June 3: Austin Hays has a two-home-run day against the Toronto Blue Jays
- June 4: Ryan Mountcastle has his second two-home-run day of the month against the Toronto Blue Jays
- June 6: Adley Rutschman has the fourth two-home-run day by an Orioles player against the Toronto Blue Jays
- June 9: Adley Rutschman tallies a career-high six RBIs against the Tampa Bay Rays
- June 11: Orioles Twitter (X) comes together to celebrate The Pasture
- June 15: Anthony Santander has the fifth two-home-run day by an Orioles player against the Philadelphia Phillies
- June 20: The Orioles score 17 runs and collect 20 hits against the New York Yankees
- June 21: Gunnar Henderson has the sixth two-home-run day by an Orioles player against the Houston Astros
- June 29: Heston Kjerstad hits his first career grand slam
Which player and moment stood out to you this past month? 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!
Represent The Baltimore Battery and show off your fandom with our official merchandise! Reasonably-priced attire made just for you! Visit our official shop site by clicking here!
Represent The Baltimore Battery and show off your fandom with our official merchandise! Reasonably-priced attire made just for you! Visit our official shop site by clicking here!
Like Zack’s content? Follow him on X – @Zackattack8211 and @OsMilbUpdates for all the latest news and updates on the O’s farm system!
THE BALTIMORE BATTERY 
Leave a comment