Orioles rank third in AL in team ERA in May

At a time when the Orioles are not scoring many runs, they are now doing a better job of preventing them. This comes as good news since it's clear that how the O's starting pitching especially does will have a lot to say about how this season goes. After Chris Tillman's shutout last night, the O's team ERA moved under 4.00 for the season at 3.94. That is now seventh-best in the American League and ahead of the league average of 4.02. The O's team ERA has been under 4.00 after just nine games this season and the current mark is the best since the team ERA was 3.92 on April 20. The Orioles now rank third in the AL in team ERA this month: 2.36 - Tigers 2.98 - A's 3.13 - Orioles 3.34 - Red Sox Here are the O's starters stats in May: * Ubaldo Jimenez - 2-0, 0.46 ERA over three starts * Wei-Yin Chen - 2-1, 2.60 ERA over three starts * Chris Tillman - 1-1, 3.28 ERA over four starts * Bud Norris - 1-1, 3.38 ERA over three starts * Miguel Gonzalez - 0-1, 3.95 ERA over three games (two starts) Not only are the starters pitching better, but they are suddenly pitching deeper in games. O's starters have gone seven innings or more in five of the last of the eight games after doing that just five times in the first 32 games. Orioles starting pitchers averaged 5.78 innings per start in April and that mark is 6.00 in May. Over those last eight games, it is 6.50. Why are the Orioles pitching better now? One theory I have is that the pitchers are finally starting to get on a somewhat normal schedule. After a disjointed April that featured poor weather, crazy travel, off-days and rainouts, they are now in a stretch where they are playing 13 games in a row. No more unique start times. Maybe they are beginning to settle in. What is your take on O's pitching and the recent improvement?