Sizzling Start

Heading into the season, most of the "experts" picked the Blue Jays or Red Sox to grab the American League East. The Yankees got some attention as well. Some SABR-metric number-crunchers thought the Rays were a savvy choice. Not much love was shown the Orioles.
Of course, Baltimore's bunch has started the season hotter than anyone. Shortstop J.J. Hardy (seen here at Camden Yards against the Yankees in 2013) was the batting star Tuesday night. He paced the O's attack with a pair of home run in a 9 - 5 win over the Sox at Fenway Park.
Off-season pickup Mark Trumbo also grabbed a headline with a game tying blast off Clay Buchholz.
But Hardy's big night is number-one on my chart: his first multi-homer game since August 8th, 2014 -- helped fuel the Orioles best start in their 63-year history! Maybe their spring training was a good barometer; after starting 0-10, they finished the pre-season going 7-1-1. That's 14-1-1 in a 16-game stretch. In a word, sizzling!

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