Just looking at the stat will probably not impress anyone. The Orioles' starting rotation ERA for the year of 4.78 ranks only 12th best in the American League. And 24th in all of MLB. So, there is room for improvement.
But in recent weeks we have seen some of that improvement which creates some hope that the next 103 games for that rotation can be better than the first 59.
And that is because they’ve pitched better in the last 25 games from their rotation - much better. The O’s rotation ERA in that span is 4.00. An ERA for the year of 4.00 would rank sixth-best in the AL. In those 25 games – where the club is 15-10 – the Orioles have 11 quality starts. That is a QS in 44 percent of those games for about the last month. In that span they won series from Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Toronto, the New York Yankees and San Francisco.
O’s pitching allowed just six runs in three games versus Tampa Bay, seven runs against Pittsburgh, 10 runs in the three-game sweep at Toronto, 13 runs versus the Yankees and nine at San Francisco. They didn’t outslug those teams while beating them, they pitched them well. And the starters had a lot to do with that.
In the season’s first 34 games, before this 25-game run, Baltimore pitchers produced only seven quality starts with an ERA of 5.39. They got a QS 20.6 percent as opposed to 44 percent now in the last 25 contests.