A look at Jones' hot bat, the bullpen's struggles and a 13-7 start in the minors

A blown lead against the Yankees. A 1-3 homestand. Four losses in five games since a 2-0 start. A bullpen that has been scored upon in every game this year.

This is not what the Orioles or their fans had in mind.

But there is no reason to panic just yet and keep this stat in mind: At 3-4, the 2015 Orioles have one more win than the 2014 Orioles did at the same time. That team went 2-5 in its first seven games, yet finished with 96 wins and a division championship.

But this year's Orioles have scored 12 runs the last two games and lost them both. They've scored 24 runs on this homestand and won just one of four games.

Their bullpen ERA is 5.40 for the year and 6.23 during the homestand.

Tommy Hunter, who gave up a grand slam to Stephen Drew last night, was asked if this is just a strange and rough stretch for a usually reliable bullpen.

"I guess," Hunter said. "I didn't even know that stat until you just told me. If you gave me a day to think about it and I come back and talk to you tomorrow about it, I'd probably have a better answer for you. You know, baseball is a weird thing. Just keep going at it, long season."

The Orioles have allowed 28 runs in their last three losses

Meanwhile, about that offense.

Adam Jones is having one amazing homestand with the bat. Over the last four games, he is 10-for-14 (.714) with a double, three homers, seven runs and seven RBIs. His OPS during this stretch is 2.179.

He's not about to overanalyze anything right now with his offense, not when it is going so well.

"I never ask the why, just live with the results," he said. "I'm not going to jinx myself, not going to say I'm doing this or doing that. Just trying to be aggressive and get good pitches to hit and right now, I'm not missing them."

Jones is batting .440 on the season. He is 4-for-4 when batting against a left-handed pitcher and is 4-for-7 when batting with runners in scoring position. His two-run homer in the sixth gave the Orioles a 4-2 lead before Drew's grand slam put New York ahead.

But as good as he has been, not everything is going right for Jones. He was thrown out trying to steal second in the eighth inning with the Orioles down by one run.

"Make something happen. Ain't going to sit stagnant. Make something happen, man," he said.

The Orioles look to even their record at 4-4 tonight in the second game of this series when Miguel Gonzalez (0-1, 1.59 ERA) pitches against CC Sabathia (0-1, 6.35 ERA).

In the minors: The Single-A Frederick Keys played 16 innings and won last night. Drew Dosch hit a sac fly to end the game in the 16th as Frederick beat Lynchburg 5-4. The 16-inning game was one frame shy of the longest in franchise history, while it is the longest the Keys have played since July 26, 2013.

Utilizing Dennis Torres, Jon Keller, Austin Urban and Jimmy Yacabonis as well as position players Brenden Webb and Tucker Nathans, the Frederick relief corps pitched 12 1/3 innings of one-run baseball and allowed only eight hits. Webb gave up just one run over three innings while Nathans pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 16th to get the win.

Double-A Bowie won 2-1 at Harrisburg as first-round picks Dylan Bundy and Matt Hobgood each pitched three scoreless innings. Bundy got the start and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced with one hitter reaching on an error. He threw 34 pitches, 24 for strikes. Bowie pitchers have worked to an ERA of 2.03 through five games.

Single-A Delmarva won again, beating Kannapolis 5-3. Alex Murphy drove in two runs. The product of Calvert Hall in Baltimore has six RBIs the last two games and nine for the season. Jomar Reyes went 2-for-4 with a double and is batting .368.

Triple-A Norfolk lost 5-4 in 10 innings at Gwinnett. After his two-day stay with the Orioles, right-hander Eddie Gamboa made the start for Norfolk, allowing three runs in five innings. Henry Urrutia went 2-for-5 with a double and is batting .444.

The O's farm teams are a combined 13-7:
* Norfolk is 2-3
* Bowie is 3-2
* Frederick is 4-1
* Delmarva is 4-1