A look at some impressive starting pitching stats

It is true about most teams most years: They'll go as far as their starting pitching will take them. The 2014 O's starters have taken this team a long way - to the club's first AL East crown in 17 years and back to the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Consider a few stats from just the last three seasons which tell how good the starting pitching has been most of this year. In 2012 the O's used 12 starters, just one pitched 150 innings and Wei-Yin Chen led the staff with 12 wins. In 2013 the O's used 14 starters, two pitched 150 innings and Chris Tillman led the staff with 16 wins. In 2014 the Orioles have used just seven starters and T.J. McFarland made just one start. They have four pitchers at 150 or more innings and Wei-Yin Chen leads the staff with 16 victories. But to really understand the consistency of the 2014 starters consider this stat: Chris Tillman led the starters last year with an ERA of 3.71 and now the club has five starters at 3.62 or lower. Five pitchers with lower ERAs than last season's No. 1 starter. 3.26 - Chris Tillman 3.33 - Miguel Gonzalez 3.57 - Kevin Gausman 3.58 - Wei-Yin Chen 3.62 - Bud Norris Also Tillman led the 2013 starters with a WHIP of 1.22 and now the O's have three right around there with Tillman at 1.21, Norris 1.22 and Chen at 1.23. Gonzalez is at 1.30. The Orioles have three 10-game winners right now and if Gonzalez can win his last start to join that group, they'll have four 10-game winners for the first time since the wire-to-wire 1997 division champs. That staff had three pitchers - Mike Mussina, Scott Erickson and Jimmy Key - all pitch 200 or more innings and Scott Kamieniecki joined them with 10 wins. This year's Orioles have used fewer starters that compiled more innings and they sure were quality innings. The O's pitching staff now ranks third in the AL in team ERA at 3.44, behind only Seattle 3.12 and Oakland at 3.27. The O's rank sixth in the league in starting pitcher ERA and they are close to fourth place: 3.42 - Seattle 3.44 - Oakland 3.45 - Tampa Bay 3.60 - Kansas City 3.61 - Los Angeles 3.62 - Orioles Since June 9, O's starters have pitched to an ERA of 3.02 and the team has gone 62-32. The O's starters don't get talked about as much as pitchers on some other teams and there are those that still consider the O's rotation lacking. They lack a true ace. No one on staff has a Cy Young award. But since early June the Orioles starters can hold their own with pretty much any team in the American League.