A few early notes from San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO - Not all saves are created equal and Zach Britton really had to earn his latest one yesterday in Oakland.

Bases loaded, two outs and former Oriole Danny Valencia at the plate. A three-run cushion could have popped with one swing from Valencia, who's batting .348 against left-handers this season.

Valencia took a 97 mph fastball for a strike, offered at a 96 mph fastball and grounded to second baseman Jonathan Schoop. The Orioles held on for a 9-6 win, avoiding a four-game sweep, and Britton converted his 35th consecutive save opportunity to start the season.

According to STATS, LLC., Britton has put together the longest save streak in as many chances to start a season by a left-hander in major league history, and he now ranks seventh all-time.

Britton leads the American League and ranks second in the majors in saves and his 0.56 ERA - three earned runs over 48 innings - places him first in the majors.

Britton is third on the Orioles' all-time saves list with 108 and is one of two left-handers in club history with at least 100 career saves, joining Tippy Martinez. He's the active major league leader with 37 consecutive saves dating to Oct. 1, 2015.

Also according to STATS, Britton owns the major league record with 39 consecutive relief appearances without allowing an earned run dating to May 5. He passed Craig Kimbrel (2011) and Brett Cecil (2015-16), who each had 38 straight appearances without allowing an earned run.

Yes, it's fine to include Britton in any Cy Young Award discussion. It would be irresponsible to exclude him.

Only three Giants have faced Britton. Eduardo Nunez is 1-for-9 with an RBI, Denard Span is 2-for-4 with two walks and Conor Gillaspie is 0-for-1.

Mark Trumbo became the fourth different Oriole yesterday to hit a grand slam, joining Manny Machado (two), Chris Davis and Schoop. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles are tied with the Red Sox and Cubs for the most players hitting grand slams this season.

The rotation has produced seven consecutive quality starts, the longest streak for the Orioles since they also strung together seven in a row from April 25-May 5, 2015, according to STATS. Their all-time longest streak is 20 in a row on Aug. 3-22, 1961.

Since making his first major league start on July 17, Dylan Bundy ranks fourth among qualifying pitchers in the American League in opponent batting average (.177) and is tied for the seventh in strikeouts (33) among AL pitchers.