The Baltimore Orioles became the third team in Major League Baseball history to hit at least 60 home runs in a month on Saturday night in a victory against the Texas Rangers (box score).
The Orioles came into play on Saturday night with 58 home runs on the month. That changed quickly, though. Anthony Santander smoked home run No. 59 in the second inning, hitting a game-tying solo shot against Rangers starter Michael Lorenzen. Then, in the fifth inning, recent call-up Heston Kjerstad hit No. 60 in grand fashion: emptying the bases on his first MLB grand slam. Take a look:
The @Orioles' 60th homer of June is a SLAM! pic.twitter.com/DwIHXee2d3
— MLB (@MLB) June 30, 2024
Kjerstad, the 25-year-old who was the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, only rejoined the Orioles earlier this week. He's since hit two home runs: Saturday's, and a two-run shot on Friday night.
The only other MLB teams to ever clear the 60-homer threshold in a single month were the 2023 Atlanta Braves (61 in June) and the 2019 New York Yankees (74 in August). Those Braves went on to tie the 2019 Minnesota Twins for the most home runs hit in a season (307); those Yankees, meanwhile, hit what's now the third-most home runs by a team in a season, at 306.
As for these Orioles, they have now homered 139 times in their first 83 games, putting them on pace for 271 over the course of a full season.
The Orioles came into Saturday with a 52-30 record, giving them a slight edge in winning percentage over the Yankees in the American League East. The Yankees were blown out by the Toronto Blue Jays earlier on Saturday, meaning the Orioles now hold a one-game advantage.
The Orioles will conclude their weekend series, and their impressive month-long home-run derby, against the Rangers on Sunday.
