masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgIn recent days the Orioles have seen Matt Wieters’ bat come to life, Vladimir Guerrero homer in back-to-back games and Brian Roberts and Adam Jones extend hitting streaks.

Who is next to break out on offense?

Not just because I wrote about his defense earlier today, but I predict we will soon see hits coming from Derrek Lee’s bat. I’ve been thinking that for a few days now and Buck Showalter said today he feels like Lee “is close.”

Lee is 2-for-11 in this series against Minnesota and…In recent days the Orioles have seen Matt Wieters‘ bat come to life, Vladimir Guerrero homer in back-to-back games and Brian Roberts and Adam Jones extend hitting streaks.

Who is next to break out on offense?

Not just because I wrote about his defense earlier today, but I predict we will soon see hits coming from Derrek Lee’s bat. I’ve been thinking that for a few days now and Buck Showalter said today he feels like Lee “is close.”

Lee is 2-for-11 in this series against Minnesota and does not have an extra-base hit over his last eight games. He has gone 12 games without an RBI since April 6 and is batting just .206 in 17 games with a homer and two RBIs.

Quite a contrast to his good finish last year after his trade to from the Cubs to Atlanta. In 39 games he batted .287 with three homers, 24 RBIs and an .849 OPS.

Lee does lead the club with nine walks, good for 21 percent of the team’s total of 42. Seems he is tracking the ball pretty well right now. That and the pregame display he put on out here the other day in early hitting makes me think his offense will soon be heard from.

Here are some other notes from Birdland:

* Guerrero has homered in back-to-back games. It’s the 60th time in his career he has gone deep in two or more consecutive games. The last time he went yard in three straight games was Aug. 6-8, 2006. He became the first Oriole this year to homer in consecutive games.

* Roberts’ current eight-game batting streak is an O’s season-high. He is hitting .361 at 13-for-36 during the run with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs.

* With his win last night, Zach Britton has tied the franchise record for wins in April by a rookie starter at three. Carl Weilman of the 1913 St. Louis Browns, Jack Ogden of the 1928 Browns and Willis Roberts of the 2001 Orioles are the only other rookie starters to post three April wins. Britton is the only O’s rookie starter to ever have three wins by April 21.

* If the Orioles win tonight, they will match their win total of all last year vs. the Twins, when they went 3-5 against Minnesota. Also tonight, the O’s can pick up their third series win of the season. In 2010, they didn’t win their third series until June 25-27.