More on the importance of the bullpen

The Orioles opened the second half of their season last night - not the mathematical one, but the one dictated by their schedule - with a rotation that accounted for 543 1/3 innings, the fewest for any team with a winning record. The starters' 4.09 ERA ranked 23rd in the majors and 11th in the American League.

Yes, there's been a surge. Before last night, the rotation had posted a 3.18 ERA in 33 games since June 9. Chris Tillman allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings last night and has notched seven quality starts in his last eight outings. But it remains a challenge for manager Buck Showalter to avoid overusing his bullpen.

Showalter is highly skilled at handling it. Ask anyone in baseball. If he's not the best, he's on a very short list.

The bullpen registered a 3.39 ERA in the first half that ranked sixth in the league and 11th in the majors. Brad Brach and T.J. McFarland have grown into valuable multi-inning, multi-purpose relievers. Zach Britton, despite last night's blown save, is evolving into one of the game's top closers, and Darren O'Day's 1.11 ERA is the lowest of any AL reliever.

Tommy Hunter hasn't permitted a run in his last 11 appearances, the longest stretch of his career, over 13 2/3 innings. Before last night, he had posted a 1.62 ERA since May 13.

Hunter retired all four Oakland batters he faced last night, striking out two. He's given up three earned runs in his last 18 innings.

The Britton blown save? Forget about it. A swinging bunt and a broken-bat blooper set up the walk-off home run. Same thing happened in the Bronx on June 20 and Britton strung together 10 consecutive scoreless appearances.

Those infield hits seem to haunt the sinkerball pitchers more than anything.

"The way our bullpen is shaping up, I'd put it up against anybody," O'Day said. "There's a lot of guys who are very versatile. Brad Brach, people are going to start realizing how good he is. We're using him in the sixth, seventh inning. He's got set-up guy stuff. T.J. reeled off a month when he had a (0.50) ERA. You can't say enough about a lefty who has that kind of movement on his fastball."

O'Day reels off the other names - Britton, Hunter, Ryan Webb, Brian Matusz. "They even talk about me a little bit," he says.

"People are going to be talking about the back of our bullpen by the end of the year. And I think top to bottom we match up with just about anybody."

Few relievers have been better than O'Day. He didn't allow a run in 35 of his 40 first-half appearances and didn't surrender a run in his last 10 - walking two (one intentional) and striking out 14 in 11 innings.

"Personally, I started out a little slower than I wanted to, but it's been another good year," he said. "I just try for consistency so that Buck knows what he's getting when he puts me out there, and that's what I want to keep going for the second half."

Wei-Yin Chen takes the mound tonight. The bullpen will come into play again.

Britton will be handed the ball if there's another save situation. Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson took turns last night getting their revenge. Britton wants the same opportunity.