finding a way
Adam Frazier was the recipient of two celebratory Gatorade showers over the weekend, and he didn’t even get a hit. Ex-Mississippi State standout Frazier, now with the Baltimore Orioles, scrambled home with the game-winning run as a pinch runner on Sunday as the red-hot O’s beat Detroit 2-1 in 10 innings at Camden Yards. On Friday, Frazier drove in the winning run with a fielder’s choice grounder in the ninth inning of a 2-1 win against the Tigers. “These kinds of wins, at the end of the season, they add up,” a soaking-wet Frazier told mlb.com after Sunday’s game. The Orioles (14-7) have won six in a row. Playing in the rugged American League East, they certainly need every win they can squeeze out. Frazier, a lefty-hitting second baseman, hasn’t hit much, just .213 through Sunday, in his first year with Baltimore. But in a lineup with Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman, Austin Hays and Jorge Mateo, he doesn’t have to carry a heavy load. He was brought in as a free agent to add some veteran flavor to a young club. The 31-year-old Frazier has contributed 12 runs, eight RBIs and three steals while playing in every game. Chances are he’ll start to get more knocks. He is a .272 career hitter (since 2016) with an All-Star Game appearance on his resume, though he had a tough year in Seattle in 2022, batting just .238. He did, however, get to celebrate the end of the Mariners’ long postseason drought. P.S. While Frazier mans second base in Baltimore, waiting in the wings at that spot is ex-State star Jordan Westburg, the Orioles’ No. 4 prospect. Westburg is batting .281 with three home runs and 14 RBIs at Triple-A Norfolk. He has hit 45 homers over his three minor league seasons.