By the time the home runs stopped on a humid night in Philadelphia, the Orioles had not just beaten the Phillies for the third-straight game, they'd done so in convincing fashion.
In an 11-4 win over the Phillies, the Orioles homered twice, had 15 hits and scored in four of the final five innings as they put a bow on their fifth win in a row in a series sweep.
The offense, which has carried the Orioles through the first few weeks of the season, remained red hot as the Orioles kept winning - and kept surprising the league as a result.
"The team is taking good at-bats together, playing good fundamental baseball, playing defense, turning double plays, our pitching is doing a great job for us," shortstop Jose Iglesias said. "Everything is just going our way. We've just got to take it one day at a time."
The Phillies had a two-run lead for all of one half inning, before four Orioles runs in the top of the fifth inning gave them a lead they wouldn't give up.
They added two runs in the seventh, three in the eighth and two more in the ninth. The Orioles have now scored 10 or more runs for the third time in the last six games - with four more innings to play of a completed game Friday afternoon, a game they've scored five runs in already.
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"It's fun to win, I think this team is doing a great job battling every day," Iglesias said. "We're playing a good baseball game right now."
But it hasn't just been the bats that have carried the Orioles. Manager Brandon Hyde credited the pitching staff, which has kept batters off the base paths throughout the season.
Starting pitcher Thomas Eshelman threw five innings, allowed four hits and just two earned runs. More importantly, he and the three Orioles relievers didn't allow a single walk.
"We're just playing good baseball right now," Hyde said. "Looking at the box score here, no walks tonight. That's just something we didn't do well last year. Quite a few games now where we haven't walked many people. That is super key against good offensive clubs."
The Orioles entered Thursday night's game, which was delayed by rain, with one of the best offenses in the American League, with two of its hottest hitters in Hanser Alberto and Iglesias. Both went 2-for-4, and Iglesias added two RBIs.
Approaching the 20th game of the season - a third of the 60-game shortened season, the Orioles are starting to make the league take notice of what's going on in Baltimore.
At least through the first few weeks of the season, the Orioles have become the biggest surprise in the sport.
"Regardless of whether we're winning or losing, I see potential," Iglesias said. "I see hungry players with a lot of talent that want to get better. I see chemistry. I've been around and I see a good group that wants to compete and gets along. That, to me, has a lot of value."
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Orioles continue to prove critics wrong, sweep Phillies in fifth win in a row originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
