Angry birds: Orioles smash eight home runs in rout of Phillies
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The Baltimore Orioles offense wasn’t messing around Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Orioles smashed eight home runs during a lopsided 19-3 victory.
Half of those big flys came courtesy of Manny Machado and Chris Parmelee. Both players hit two home runs a piece during the contest.
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Machado wasted no time getting to work. Baltimore’s leadoff man went yard during his first at-bat. After Baltimore scored six runs in the first inning, Machado led off the second with his second home run of the contest.
Both Jimmy Paredes and Parmelee added solo blasts in the second inning. David Lough would be the lucky winner in the third, smashing a three-run shot against Dustin McGowan.
Not wanting to be left out on the fun, Chris Davis hit a solo shot to open the fourth inning. In the first four innings of the contest, the team hit six home runs.
Parmelee would add his second dinger in the sixth, and Ryan Flaherty would cap the evening with a solo blast in the eighth.
Flaherty’s home run would wind up being significant.
With the victory, the Orioles improved to 33-31 on the season.
ROBINSON’S RANGERS WALK IT OFF
It’s been a bit of a frustrating season for Texas Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos, but he got to play the hero Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Chirinos came up with the game-winning hit.
His heroics were nearly not needed. Starter Chi Chi Gonzalez turned in an exceptional start, but appeared to lose steam in the ninth inning. Gonzalez managed to pick up the first out of the frame, but walked Howie Kendrick. That set up a Justin Turner home run, tying the game 2-2. Gonzalez was pulled at that point, and the Rangers got out of the inning without giving up any more runs.
That set the stage for Chirinos. The 31-year-old may have been hitting just .198 coming into the game, but that didn’t matter in this moment. Chirinos took Josh Ravin deep to open the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Rangers the walk-off win.
With the victory, Texas improved to 35-30. They are just 2.5 games out of first in the American League West.
WILL THE WHITE SOX EVER SCORE AGAIN?
The Chicago White Sox’s woes continued Tuesday against the Pirates. Chicago couldn’t muster up any offense during the contest, losing 3-0.
For the White Sox, these offensive struggles are becoming a trend.
That’s right, the last time the White Sox scored a run was during the second inning of Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. They’ve been shut out ever since.
The game also showcased two teams heading in opposite directions. With the loss, the White Sox have now dropped five straight games. The Pirates, on the other hand, are surging. The team has won six straight, though they’ve only gained one game on the St. Louis Cardinals during that stretch.
Chicago, meanwhile, fell to a season-worst 28-35. The club sits in the cellar of the American League Central, and remains nine games behind the Kansas City Royals.
BRYCE HARPER DOES IT AGAIN
Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper continues to amaze this season. The 22-year-old blasted his 22nd home run of the season during a 16-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.
That figure actually ties Harper’s career high.
As a 19-year-old, Harper smashed 22 home runs in 139 games. It took him just 62 games to reach that number this season.
Harper didn’t just show off his power during the contest. He also hit a single and a double, going 3 for 3, with one run scored and one RBI. Harper walked in his only other plate appearance, reaching base all four times he was up to bat.
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With the performance, Harper raised his slash line to a ridiculous .346/.481/.735 over 268 plate appearances.
Want to see more from Tuesday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
