masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgBaseball can be a funny game. A hitter can go from struggling badly to hot in just a few games and with just a few swings.

That seems to be happening right now to Steve Pearce. In the last two games his bat looks like it is heating up.

He has gone 5-for-10 with three doubles, a homer and two RBIs. Before that he went 5-for-44 (.114) during a 14-game stretch. He went 19 games without an RBI until he homered Sunday at Cleveland and then he added two doubles during a three-hit game last…Baseball can be a funny game. A hitter can go from struggling badly to hot in just a few games and with just a few swings.

That seems to be happening right now to Steve Pearce. In the last two games his bat looks like it is heating up.

pearce-at-bat-white-sidebar.jpgHe has gone 5-for-10 with three doubles, a homer and two RBIs. Before that he went 5-for-44 (.114) during a 14-game stretch. He went 19 games without an RBI until he homered Sunday at Cleveland and then he added two doubles during a three-hit game last night.

Pearce has a career-high 12 homers and he had never hit more than four in any season before this one. He has also established career-highs in runs, hits, doubles, RBIs and stolen bases.

Pearce can be a quiet guy in interviews, but he recently told me one thing he likes very much about the 2014 Orioles is the ability to turn the page. Whether they had a great win or tough loss, they know they must move past it in time for the next game.

We just saw evidence of that as the Orioles have won the last two games after they lost the first two games in Cleveland.

“We put everything behind us,” Pearce said. “We might have a tough loss, but the next day is a different day. We are going to flush what happened the night before and take care of business that day.

“We find ways to win. That is what makes a good team. It’s been somebody else every night. We rely on hitting some nights, pitching some nights, but I think we are playing great team baseball right now.

“At the beginning of the year, we kind of couldn’t get together. Now as the season has gone on, we’ve jelled together.”

And it’s clear how great the chemistry is on this Orioles team. They like each other and they like playing together. Pearce said he credits that as much as anything for the team being in first place.

“I think that is more than almost on the field,” he said. “Everyone in here, we like being around each other. We all pull for each other. We have such great chemistry in here that we want everyone to do good. Anyone that is scuffling, we want them to pull out it and do well because we do have such good chemistry in here.”