The Orioles entered Saturday’s game one big swing away from a mark that they’ve never touched. Anthony Santander delivered the blow, clubbing a 440-foot solo shot in the second inning that knotted the score with the Texas Rangers at one apiece.
Santander’s blast was the Orioles’ 59th home run in June, their most in a single month in franchise history, and one of two homers that pushed Baltimore to a 6-5 win over Texas on Saturday.
“We’re leading the league in homers because we have a ton of guys who have a ton of power,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Our hitting coaches are doing a great job of really preaching getting the ball in the strike zone, and we’re taking good swings.”
Heston Kjerstad hit the Orioles’ 60th home run — and fifth grand slam — of the season to slingshot Baltimore in front three innings after Santander’s blast. With two outs in the fifth and after Rangers starter Michael Lorenzen loaded the bases with two walks following Gunnar Henderson’s double, Kjerstad reared back and unloaded on the third pitch he saw.
Lorenzen’s inside cutter left Kjerstad’s bat at 105 mph and squeaked over the centerfield wall to send the sold-out Camden Yards crowd into a frenzy. With it, Baltimore became the third team in MLB history to hit 60 home runs in a single month.
Kjerstad, who was recalled Monday, already has two homers in just five games back in the majors.
“I just want to keep it rolling,” the outfielder said. “That’s the type of player I am and that’s the type of player I want to be.”
The Orioles entered Saturday leading MLB in home runs this season with 138, 16 more than the second-place Yankees. Baltimore is on pace to shatter its franchise record for homers in a season of 257 set in 1997.
Santander and Henderson are at the center of the Orioles’ June power surge. Santander’s home run Saturday was his 22nd of the season and 13th of the month, which also broke the franchise record for home runs by a single player in June and is tied for third most by a player in any month in Orioles history. Henderson has eight blasts this month and 26 on the season, second most in MLB behind New York’s Aaron Judge.
Colton Cowser, who’s seemingly snapped his nearly two-month slump this week, has five homers in June. Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg — all All-Star finalists — have also added five blasts. Nine other players have hit at least one.
Kjerstad’s grand slam drew screams for a curtain call from the home crowd. Kjerstad was late to realize the request. He first gave a wave when flashed on the Camden Yards video board, then finally left the dugout and tipped his cap after teammates told him what the crowd truly wanted.
“He was late with that curtain call,” Hyde joked. “We’ve got to work on that. That was 5 seconds too late and then it lost its luster.”
