Mark Trumbo of the Baltimore Orioles is having a lot of fun hitting the long ball in 2016.
Lately it seems as if the baseball is the size of a beachball for Baltimore Orioles outfielder, and sometimes first baseman, Mark Trumbo. Not only does Trumbo have a career high of 38 home runs so far this season, but his last seven hits have been round-trippers.
Earlier this season, on April 15, Trumbo treated Orioles fans to a feat that no other Oriole player had accomplished before: Hitting two home runs in one inning. Now, he’s become the first Oriole player to have home runs in seven straight hits. Slugger Mark McGwire set the MLB record with 11 straight back in 2001.
Trumbo’s streak began on August 11 against the Oakland Athletics when he hit a grand slam off reliever Daniel Coulombe. The streak continued on Monday night when Trumbo went 1-2 with a home run and a walk in a 4-3 win over the Nationals. In between, Trumbo hit two home runs in San Francisco and three against Houston, and he’s hit three solo home runs and two two-run home runs, to go along with the grand slam that kicked off the streak.
Last week, the Orioles became the first team in MLB history to hit four home runs before recording an out against Houston. And guess who played a role in that performance? Yep, Trumbo hit the fourth home run of the inning, and third in a row to give the Orioles a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the first.
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Trumbo’s previous high of 34 home runs came back in 2013 when he was still a member of the Los Angeles Angels. He also played in a career high of 159 that season. This year, in 142 games thus far, Trumbo is batting .256/.311/.540 with his MLB-leading 38 home runs, 92 RBI, 20 doubles and 123 hits overall. Trumbo does have a high number of strikeouts (136) with a low number of walks (36), but the Orioles are in good shape as long as he continues to hit the ball out of the park.