A few thoughts after the Orioles' loss to the Rays

The Orioles came up short in their bid to get a three-game sweep to start this important nine-game road trip. They lost 7-6 to Tampa Bay this afternoon to take two of three in the series.

They fall to 76-63 with their second loss in the last six games. They are 31-38 on the road, 32-27 versus the American League East and 11-4 against the Rays.

Dylan Bundy allowed five runs and seven hits over 3 2/3 innings. He has given up nine runs in seven innings in two starts at Tropicana Field.

The O's led 5-2 in the third, but could not hold the lead. Corey Dickerson's RBI double to left in the seventh, just out of the reach of center fielder Adam Jones, broke the 6-6 tie and provided Tampa Bay's winning run.

The offense had a good series: The Orioles got solid offense in three games at Tropicana Field. A big key was the runners in scoring position stat. In this series they went 12-for-35 (.343). In the 10 games that preceeded the Tampa Bay series they went 7-for-60. Big difference.

The Orioles scored two runs each in the last two games of the series with New York and scored just one run and three runs in losses to Toronto. We know the offense has been inconsistent for most of the year, but if they can get on a solid streak as they did for most of June, it could carry them to a playoff berth.

The additions of Michael Bourn and Drew Stubbs provided needed outfield options and an injection of speed that has been missing for much of the year. The offense will get a real test Friday against Tigers rookie right-hander Micheal Fulmer, who is 10-6 with a 2.77 ERA. He had a 10-start stretch earlier this year where he pitched to an ERA of 0.83.

Concern for Bundy?: Bundy has allowed five runs in three of his last five starts, pitching to an ERA of 6.46 in that stretch. The two starts he didn't give up five runs, he threw well, in fairness to him.

But he's now at 94 1/3 innings and it is an obvious question to wonder how the innings load is impacting a pitcher that has thrown so few innings in recent seasons. The kid has poise and plenty of guts and would probably throw 120 pitches each time out if they asked him to.

Do the Orioles skip him a start or push his next start back a day or a few days? They may have some decisions to make here on Bundy.

Big series ahead: They're all big now, right? But after an off day the Orioles play three games in Detroit. They face a direct competitor in the wild card race and this series will be crucial, to say the least.