They did it the hard way. It began last Friday where the Orioles were headed into a six-game stretch versus Philadelphia and the New York Yankees, the teams with the two best records in their respective leagues.

Where some fans might have been happy with a 3-3 split, the Orioles won both series and go 4-2 in this stretch. And yes, they did do it the hard way, losing the series-opening game each time and then winning two in a row.

They did it by bashing two of baseball’s best pitchers in 2024 in Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler and Yankees right-hander Luis Gil.

Wheeler entered his start against the Orioles Sunday – in the game that was to decide that series – at 8-3 with a 2.16 ERA. His ERA was 1.57 in his previous five starts. Then the Orioles got nine hits and eight runs off him by hitting four homers against him in 4 1/3 innings. Wheeler entered that start with a 0.62 HR rate on the year among the best in baseball. But against the Orioles he allowed a career-high in homers and tied his career high for earned runs.

Then in the game to decide the series in the Bronx, they faced Gil. He entered his start at 9-1 with a 2.03 ERA and was 8-0 with an ERA of 1.14 in his previous nine starts. He had given up 4.4 hits per every nine innings this year.

The Orioles continue to hold their own and most of the time do better than that against other winning clubs. Will this bode well for the rest of the year? Will it mean something come October?

Again, great questions. October is a whole other story, and we'll get there when we get there. But the way the O's play against quality opponents has to bode well for where they will be after 162 games have been played.

Against teams that are over .500 as of the end of their game Sunday, the Orioles record is now 22-9 (.710) and they are 9-1 in series. They have won series against the Yankees, Minnesota, Seattle, Philadelphia and Atlanta losing to Milwaukee. They have won two series each against Boston and Kansas City.

Those numbers could change as Boston was one game over (36-35) going into its Sunday night baseball game. Also St. Louis, which went 3-0 versus the Orioles, was 35-35 as of last night.

But the O's are doing quite well and against current division leaders they are 8-5, going 3-1 versus the Yankees, 2-1 against Seattle and Philly and 1-2 against Milwaukee. 

The Orioles' six-game stretch against the teams with the best records in the National League and American League continues under sunny skies this afternoon in downtown Baltimore. The Orioles (45-24) host Philadelphia (47-22) in the second of a three-game series at Oriole Park. They face the Yankees next week in the Bronx starting Tuesday night.

Last night's game featured a sellout crowd of 43,987 and a playoff atmosphere. A close game throughout that had a unique ending with a rain delay of one hour and 11 minutes before the 11th inning. When play resumed, Alec Bohm's two-run double off Jacob Webb gave the Phillies a 5-3 lead and win as the Orioles could not answer in the last of the 11th.

Baltimore came back three times to tie this game. Down 1-0 in the last of the third, Adley Rutschman's RBI double made it 1-1. Down 2-1 in the eighth, Anthony Santander's 15th home run tied it. Down 3-2 in the 10th, Cedric Mullins scored on a wild pitch and got his left hand in around the tag on a great slide to even the score 3-3. 

But the Orioles went 1-for-13 in the game with runners in scoring position and are 3-for-30 the last three games with RISP.

After an 8-1 win over Boston Friday night, the Yankees (50-22, .694) lead the Orioles by 3.5 games atop the AL East.

As the Orioles began an important six-game stretch last night against the Phillies, the club with the best record in the National League and then the New York Yankees, the club with the best-record in the American League, it seems like a pretty important stretch of baseball.

How much will it say about how the Orioles will do the rest of this year? How much will it say about their chances to win this October?

Good questions that may not have answers right now. Success in this stretch doesn’t guarantee anything. But to see their team play well against two of MLB’s best will certainly make Birdland feel good.

How a good team stacks up against other good teams can be very important. Not just in the standings but for confidence. It can show a team that believes it can contend in October that they very well might be right.

So far this year the O’s have stacked up very well against good teams, a loss last night notwithstanding.

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins is still feeling discomfort today in his right hamstring but the club remains optimistic this will prove to be nothing too concerning or long-term at all.

“It’s still a little bit sore,” manager Brandon Hyde said before today’s game with the Phillies in Clearwater. “I think he’s really positive about it. Still a day-to-day type of thing. Obviously, we are going to be cautious with any hamstring right now. But, we’re confident. We have a lot of time left in camp. Shouldn’t be an issue.”

Mullins left Monday’s game in the last of the first at Ed Smith Stadium with right hamstring discomfort after drawing a leadoff walk and advancing to second on a groundout. He was limited to 116 games last year by two trips to the injured list with a right groin strain.

Mullins may get an MRI, Hyde said “just from a baseline standpoint. I talked to him before I came here, he feels good.”

Mullins' current issue is unrelated to anything from last year.

The Orioles have a winning road trip secured as they take the field in Philadelphia tonight, but they need a victory in the game to pick up another series victory. They’d love to win to erase the memory of their sixth walk-off loss of the year last night. The Phillies scored twice in the ninth to pull it out.

The Orioles (62-39) had a three-game win streak snapped and lost for just the second time in seven games and fourth time in the last 17. They had won nine of their previous 10 road games until this loss.

Tonight, they can extend their AL East lead back to 2.5 games after Miami beat Tampa Bay 7-1 this afternoon.

The road trip started with the Orioles going 3-1 at Tampa Bay and now are 1-1 this series for a 4-2 trip so far with one game left. The Orioles are 8-5 in rubber match games on the season, having not played one since they lost 11-7 in 10 innings to Cincinnati on June 28.

The Orioles are 19-10-3 in series play and are 10-4-2 in road series and 32-19 in road games.

PHILADELPHIA – Christmas carols played between innings tonight at Citizens Bank Park. A man dressed as Santa Claus danced on the field. The dining room served traditional holiday favorites like carved turkey and ham, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

The Orioles weren’t in a giving mood until they got to the ninth inning.

Bryson Stott doubled off Yennier Cano with two outs to score Bryce Harper and tie the game, J.T. Realmuto reached on an infield hit, with Jorge Mateo slow to get the ball out of his glove, and Alec Bohm singled into left field in the Phillies' 4-3 walk-off win over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 37,200.

Ryan O’Hearn homered off Phillies left-hander Matt Strahm leading off the eighth inning, his third tie-breaking hit in the last four games, but the Orioles fell to 62-39 overall and 4-2 on the trip. The Phillies won for only the second time in seven games.

The Orioles are 19-10 in one-run games. They had won six straight.

For the Orioles, this has been a road trip marked by close wins. They are 4-1 on the trip, winning the four games by a combined five runs after Monday’s 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Orioles (62-38) are playing .620 ball at the 100-game mark they reached last night. They now lead the American League East by 2 1/2 games over Tampa Bay, 6 1/2 over Toronto and 9.0 over Boston and New York.

The Orioles have won three in a row, five of six and 13 of 16 games. They have outscored their opponents 93-57 over the 16 games. They are 8-3 in the second half and have now gone 72 consecutive series without being swept.

In Orioles club history, the six teams that played in the World Series all won 59 or more of their first 100 games. The 1969 team posted the best 100-game mark at 69-31, followed by the 1979 team (67-33) and the 1966 World Series champions (66-34). The teams in 1970, 1971, 1997 and 2023 all went 62-38. The 1983 World Series winners won 59 games. Every O’s team that won 62 or more advanced to the postseason.

Jordan Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle hit solo homers last night, and Colton Cowser notched his first career extra-base hit with an RBI double in the ninth that broke the 2-2 tie. Westburg hit his first career homer and Mountcastle hit No. 12 this year. He blasted a slider with a 112.3 mph exit velocity, and hit the ball 451 feet out over the center field fence. It is the fourth-longest homer by an Oriole this year.

The Orioles road trip continues tonight in Philadelphia, where they play the first of three games at Citizens Bank Park. The Orioles won three of four against the Tampa Bay Rays, winning the three games by four total runs to grab a two-game lead atop the American League East.

The Orioles (61-38), who play their 100^th game tonight, were 6.5 games back of Tampa Bay on July 1 and six games back on July 4. So far this month, the Orioles are 13-6 while the Rays are 4-14, and they have gained 8.5 games on the Rays in that span.

With Sunday’s 5-3 win at the Trop, the Orioles improved to 6-3 this season against Tampa Bay and to 6-0 in games decided by two or fewer runs. The Orioles are 15-10 their past 25 games versus the Rays after going 2-27 in the previous 29.

They also gained their first series win at Tropicana Field since June 23-25, 2017.

The Orioles have now won four of five, 12 of 15 and 13 of their past 18 games. They are 7-3 since the All-Star break, and a season-high 23 games over the .500 mark.

PHILADELPHIA – Adley Rutschman is out of tonight’s lineup to open the series against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. However, the All-Star catcher’s health is fine.

Manager Brandon Hyde is giving Rutschman a rest day, whether it lasts the full nine innings or until he’s needed off the bench.

“He played all four games in Tampa on the turf, caught three of them,” Hyde said this afternoon, “so just give him a day off today.”

Closer Félix Bautista won’t be used tonight after pitching four of the last five days, recording three saves and a two-inning win.

Bautista leads the American League and is third in the majors with 28 saves. He’s gotten a save or win in 33 of 45 appearances for a 73.3 percentage that would be the fourth-highest in club history behind Jim Johnson’s 74.6 in 2012, Randy Myers’ 77 in 1997 and Lee Smith’s 82.9 in 1994, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

PHILADELPHIA – The Orioles have won 12 of their last 15 games, averaging six runs during that stretch, and return to interleague play tonight against the Phillies.

Gunnar Henderson is in the cleanup spot as the designated hitter. He’s batting .291/.375/.655 (16-for-55) with five home runs, 13 RBIs and 14 runs scored in his last 14 games.

Henderson’s 16 home runs this season are the fourth most among rookies behind Corbin Carroll (21), Francisco Alvarez (19) and Josh Jung (19). The Orioles are 12-3 in the 15 games when he’s homered.

James McCann is catching, with Adley Rutschman on the bench.

Austin Hays is leading off. Jordan Westburg is playing second base, Jorge Mateo is the shortstop and Ramón Urías is the third baseman.

There will be some rules changes coming to Major League Baseball in 2023 and among them is essentially the elimination of infield shifts. Starting next year, two infielders must be on each side of second base and they have to be no deeper than the back-edge of the infield which touches the outfield. Also, teams cannot switch defenders and for instance move a shortstop to the second base spot on the right side against a pull lefty batter.

This change should add some offense and some defense to the game.

The shift takes hits away from batters that are pull happy with groundballs and mostly unable to hit against the shift. Had they been able to do that, they would see fewer shifts. But we know how that turns out.

I went back and looked at the MLB number for Batting Average of Balls in Play (BABIP) every year since 2010. For most of the seasons between 2010 and 2019, the final BABIP was between .297 and .300. But teams kept shifting more and more and that number dropped to .292 in the shortened 2020 season and in 2021. The BABIP was .290 last season.

Now that lefty batters won’t face a seeming picket fence on defense on the right side moving forward, some hits will be added to their up-to-now sinking batting averages. That could create more scoring in the game in general and more scoring chances. More runners can mean more pressure on pitchers, who then make more mistakes in some of those spots and more runs are scored.