3 Orioles to thank after a series sweep of the Royals

Coming back home following a series loss to end the road trip, the Baltimore Orioles were greeted by the Kansas City Royals as the teams wrapped up the 2023 season series against each other. The sweep puts the Orioles 17 games over .500, the first time they've done that since July of 2016.

The Orioles returned to their elite form in this series, sweeping the Royals out of town as the Orioles won their fourth straight game on Sunday to secure the sweep. It's the fourth series of the season that the Orioles have swept, after previously sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, and Washington Nationals.

Following this series sweep, there are three members of the Orioles in particular to thank for the sweep. Let's get right into it.

3 members of the Baltimore Orioles to thank after a series sweep of the Royals

Anthony Santander

Santander had himself a nice showing this series, going 4-for-11 to give him a .364 batting average for the three games. Starting at first base on Friday night, Santander made his only hit of the game count, going down as an RBI double in a 3-2 win for the Orioles.

The middle game on Saturday saw Santander pick up another RBI double as part of a 3-for-4 game while also mixing in an incredible grab on defense to end the first inning. Sunday saw Santander go 0-for-4 while drawing a walk. In total, he had two RBI doubles and a walk to go with some nifty defense.

Gunnar Henderson

What a series for the youngster Henderson. Playing third base in the first game, he went a perfect 3-for-3 while stealing two bases. The second game saw Henderson go 2-for-5 with a solo home run in a 6-1 Orioles win, entering Sunday's game 5-for-8 with eight total bases over two games.

Henderson continued his flaming hot streak at shortstop on Sunday with Jorge Mateo out of the lineup. He went 3-for-5 while batting leadoff for the second straight game, including a long 462 foot three-run home run in the seventh inning, getting all the way to Eutaw Street.

All in all, Henderson went 8-for-11 in the series, stealing two bases and ending with 15 total bases in three games. He hit .727 over the three games, further solidifying that he has officially found out. With Cedric Mullins still injured, he can certainly hit leadoff too.

Ryan O'Hearn

Despite only playing in the second and third games, O'Hearn still made a large impact against his old team in the Royals. He went 2-for-2 in the Saturday game, including an RBI single before he came out around the midpoint of the game, with Ryan McKenna coming in. On Sunday, O'Hearn went 3-for-3 with a solo home run in the eighth inning, also drawing two walks. He ends the series with a perfect 5-for-5 line with two walks thrown in there. How's that for revenge?

Honorable mentions: Aaron Hicks, Austin Hays

Two players that also played well in the series were outfielders, that being Hicks and Hays. The recently acquired Hicks is fitting in well in Baltimore, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in game one. He was quiet in game two, drawing a walk in a 0-for-3 performance, but went 2-for-4 with another walk and an RBI double in Sunday's 11-3 win. He went 3-for-10 on the series, adding two walks and a stolen base.

Hays also had a solid series, going 3-for-11 in total. He led off Friday's game with a home run as part of a 2-for-4 game. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI single on Saturday before going hitless in four at-bats on Sunday, but he did drive in a run thanks to a sacrifice fly.

Up next

After a day off on Monday, the Orioles play an AL East foe at home for three games, as the Toronto Blue Jays come to town.