O’s pitching staff fastest ever to allow 100 HRs
Clint Frazier connects on a two-run home run in in the 3rd and follows it up with a three-run shot in the fifth, his first homers since April 21st. (0:51)
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles have reached the century mark.
On Tuesday, the Orioles surrendered their 100th home run of the season, making them the fastest team to ever reach that mark. They achieved the dubious distinction in the fifth inning, when New York Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier drilled a three-run shot to dead center against O’s starter David Hess. The home run, which traveled 411 feet and gave New York a 9-0 lead, was Frazier’s second of the night and the third allowed by Hess in the game.
Baltimore’s pitching staff, which was working its 48th game this season, reached triple digits nine games faster than the 2000 Kansas City Royals, who allowed their 100th home run in their 57th contest. The O’s are on pace to surrender 338 homers this year, which would shatter the current record of 258, held by the 2016 Cincinnati Reds.
“We’re facing good teams, but you gotta pitch,” Baltimore’s rookie skipper Brandon Hyde said. “You gotta pitch here. You gotta stay off the barrel. You gotta be able to locate. And if you don’t, in a hitter’s ballpark against guys that mash, you’re going to give up a hundred homers, 40-something games into it.”
The Orioles aren’t the only ones serving up gopher balls at a record clip this year though. The Seattle Mariners, who’ve allowed 87 homers in 51 games, are also on pace to surpass the 2016 Reds. Overall, MLB hitters are homering in 3.4 percent of all plate appearances, up from 3.0 percent last season.
More than half of the home runs the Birds have given up this season have been hit by the Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. In 10 games against Baltimore, New York hitters have gone deep 29 times, including 20 times in five contests at Camden Yards. The Twins have 23 bombs in six games against the O’s.
Entering play on Tuesday, the Orioles ranked last in the majors with a 5.63 ERA. They owned a .319 winning percentage (15-32) that was second worst, behind the Miami Marlins.