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Baltimore Orioles Pending Free Agent Does Something Not Done in Last 20 Years of History

The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers on Friday night as Anthony Santander helped power the victory with another home run.
Brady Farkas|
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander (25) reacts with teammates after outfielder Colton Cowser (not pictured) second inning solo home run against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sept 20.
Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander (25) reacts with teammates after outfielder Colton Cowser (not pictured) second inning solo home run against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sept 20. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 7-1 on Friday night at Camden Yards. Though the Orioles remain 4.0 games back in the American League East and seem destined for a wild card spot, it was an important win as the O's look to regain momentum heading into the playoffs.

Baltimore is now 86-68 on the season. The loss was a very tough one for Detroit, who fell to 80-74. They are now 1.0 game back of the Minnesota Twins for the third and final wild card spot in the American League with eight games to play.

Starting pitcher Corbin Burnes dominated in the win, going 7.0 innings and allowing just three hits. He walked three and struck out eight. Acquired this offseason in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, he's 15-8 with a 2.95 ERA.

Offensively, the team was carried by the long ball. Anthony Santander hit a home run and Colton Cowser and James McCann each had two.

For Santander, the home run was his 43rd of the season. That's the highest number reached by a switch-hitter in a season since 2005, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com. The most home runs ever hit by a switch-hitter was 54 by Mickey Mantle back in 1961.

Though he's hitting just .238, Santander has the 43 homers and 99 RBI. He's produced an .826 OPS at the age of 29 and will be headed to free agency after the year. Given his power and production, he's likely to get a contract that exceeds $175 million and there's a very real chance it exceeds $200 million.

The Orioles and Tigers will play again on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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