When the Baltimore Orioles finally rediscovered their power stroke at the plate, the homers came in bunches.
The Orioles will be looking for the victories to multiply in a similar fashion.
Winners of two games in a row, the Orioles meet the visiting Detroit Tigers again Saturday in the middle contest of a three-game series.
In a 7-1 Baltimore win Friday night, the Orioles got two home runs apiece from Colton Cowser and James McCann plus one long ball from Anthony Santander.
“Hitting is contagious, right?” McCann said. “So all it takes is that one guy to come with a big hit and the next thing you know it follows on with everyone else in the lineup.”
The Orioles (86-68) aren’t necessarily back in a groove, but they have won back-to-back games for the first time since a three-game streak from Sept. 2-3. They sit four games behind the first-place New York Yankees (90-64) in the American League East.
The Tigers (80-74) are playing important games as well. After their four-game winning streak ended in the series opener, they trail the Minnesota Twins by one game for the final AL wild card.
“You just keep playing,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said.
Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows said of the Orioles, “They came out swinging. It’s a three-game series for a reason, so we’re going to come out (Saturday) and give it everything we’ve got.”
Baltimore had two players produce multiple homers in the same game for the first time in more than three years.
It was like a flashback to earlier in the season when home runs seemed to come at the same frequency as singles.
“We haven’t had homers in bunches in a while,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We did in the first half.”
Not to be overlooked was Santander’s two-run shot in the first inning. Santander had ended the Thursday game against the San Francisco Giants with a walk-off two-run homer.
The Orioles have only two home games remaining before a series in New York against the Yankees. Baltimore wants to arrive in the Bronx with a reasonable chance to win the AL East.
“Hopefully it’s a momentum thing that we keep on riding out through the end of the season,” McCann said.
The Orioles have left-hander Cade Povich (2-9, 5.74 ERA) lined up as their starter on Saturday. Povich struck out eight Detroit batters in five innings while giving up two runs in a road loss on Sunday.
Povich has fanned 23 batters in 17 innings this month. Both of the rookie’s victories have come in home games.
The Tigers will give the ball to right-hander Reese Olson (4-8, 3.50). He will be making his 21st start of the season, and his numbers are similar to those from his 2023 rookie year, though he needs another victory to match his win total from last season.
Olson was sidelined for almost two months due to a shoulder ailment before returning for a start against the host Kansas City Royals on Monday. In that outing, he was dinged for four runs on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings, but the Tigers wound up winning 7-6.
Detroit won all three games that Olson pitched in during July before he went on the injured list. In his 41 career appearances (38 starts), he has yet to face the Orioles.
