Britton's bounce back: Rookie pitches Orioles past Oakland

Well, for tonight there will be no talk of the American League catching up to Zach Britton. The rookie lefty had given up 14 earned runs and 25 hits over 16 2/3 over his past three starts, but he was back to his earlier form tonight, getting his sixth win as the Orioles beat Oakland 3-2. For the Birds, it's their first three-game home sweep of Oakland since July of 1998. Britton, who gave up six runs in 5 2/3 against Oakland on May 29, tonight gave up just one run and four hits over 6 1/3 innings. He is now 6-4 with an ERA of 3.18. Britton took a two-hit shutout into the sixth and that is when Oakland scored its first run ending a 19-inning scoreless stretch in this series. In eight home starts, Britton is 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA. The O's scored all three runs in the fifth on a J.J Hardy RBI single and a Mark Reynolds two-run homer. It was his 10th of the year and his eighth in 34 games since May 1. This was the Orioles' fourth three-game series sweep of the season after they swept Tampa Bay, Seattle and Kansas City. The Orioles improved to 29-31 on the season with their fourth win over the last five games. They are 10-7 since May 21st. Orioles pitching gave up just four runs in sweeping the series. The club is off Thursday and hosts Tampa Bay over the weekend.