Adam Jones: New year, but same attitude for Orioles

Orioles players have long since moved on from the 2012 season. They know it was the year that put the Orioles back into the playoffs and ended a long run of losing seasons. They also know it won't do them any good this year and they have to play well again to have two successful seasons in a row. But while they have moved on to the new season, there is one aspect of the team that has carried over and Adam Jones talked about it before yesterday's game. "To my calculations, I think it is 2013. It's a new year, but it's the same attitude," Jones said. "I think, if you are seeing similarities between last year and this year, look no further than the attitude of the team. Every day, we show up ready to play no matter how last night or the last at-bat went. We will finish all 27 outs." The latest example was last night when the Orioles lost a 3-1 lead, but won the game. They are now 8-3 in the first game of a series and that is a good way to try and win series. The Orioles have won five of their last six and seven of 10 series on the season. After last night's game, the Orioles' PR staff provided a stat that gets your attention: Since July 29, 2012, the Orioles have the best record in the majors at 61-33 for a winning percentage of .649. During that time, they also own the best home record in baseball at 31-13, a .705 win percentage. The Orioles went 41-20 from that date on last season and have now added a 20-13 start to it. Impressive. Speaking of impressive, Manny Machado had two more hits last night. Over his last 15 games, he has nine multi-hit contests, batting .391 (25-for-64) in that time with seven doubles, a triple, three homers and 10 RBIs. The kid has three homers over his last six games and 14 RBIs in his last 17. Chris Tillman will try to pitch the Orioles to another series win tonight, coming off an outing Thursday at Anaheim where he pitched eight shutout innings of three-hit ball. In his first three starts, Tillman's ERA was 7.07. Over his last three, he is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.31.