Ryan O’Hearn hit a double and a home run for the Orioles on Sunday, helping them beat the Rays 5-3. Baltimore takes three of four the games in the series to extend their AL East lead to two games.

O’Hearn raised his averages to .313/.358/.528 with that game. In five season with the Royals, he hit .219/.293/.390. O’Hearn drew walks just fine, but he did little when he put the ball in play.

What happened? It would appear the Orioles got him to raise his launch angle, which led to fewer ground balls and more barrels. Kudos to the Orioles, or whoever noticed that this would make a difference. I would guess that Sig Mejdal or one of his staff was behind this.