Upcoming homestand gives Orioles a chance to pull ahead in AL East race

After splitting a 10-game road trip which capped off with a series win at Tropicana Field, the Orioles now aim to break open the AL East with a big week coming up. The series in Tampa featured Jackson Holliday's fourth homer in six days and fifth on the season. Additionally, breakout star Albert Suarez twirled another impressive start, tossing 6.2 innings of shutout baseball on Sunday.

With 43 games remaining in the 2024 season, the O's are exactly where they thought they would be. They currently sit tied with the Yankees at 70-49 for first place in the AL East, and it will be quite a battle for the division down the line. As the O's look ahead towards a new week, they face a significant opportunity to take a lead in the division. The sub-par Nationals are visiting for a mid-week series, followed by the Red Sox to cap off the week.

Jackson Holliday's hot bat will lead the Orioles down the stretch

Despite heavy struggles at the outset of the season, hitting .059 through 34 at bats in the first month, Holliday has quickly resurged after the recent promotion. He seems more comfortable and steady at the plate as reflected by smacking his fourth homer of the month. He currently has a .962 OPS in August plus a considerable cut in his strikeout rate which sits at 28%, down from 50% in March/April.

As the O's get set to welcome the scuffling Nationals rotation, featuring Jake Irvin on Tuesday, who will put up a fight, and DJ Herz on Wednesday, Holliday will undoubtedly have some opportunities to wallop another one out of Camden Yards.

Holliday has been the talk of the town but putting aside the youngster's hot streak, another key factor heading into this week's play is the long ball. Coming into Tuesday's matchup, the Birds have two players with 25+ homers who rank in the top 10 in the majors.

That title goes to uprising superstar Gunnar Henderson (29) and eighth-year veteran Anthony Santander (35). Aside from those two, the O's have six other players with 10+ homers, including; Colten Cowser (18), Jordan Westburg (18), Adley Rutschman (17), Ryan Mountcastle (13), Ryan O'Hearn (12), and Cedric Mullins (12).

The Orioles rank first in the majors in home runs and boast a league-leading .453 SLG, 12 points ahead of two division rivals in the Yankees and Red Sox. On that note, Boston's pitching staff ranks 24th in home runs allowed this season with a whopping 143 long balls. There's one thing for sure: the Red Sox will not have it easy facing such a top-heavy lineup.