After quiet deadline day, play on field back in spotlight for Orioles

The trade deadline has come and gone, and while there was some buzz around several Orioles players in the days leading up to it, there were no trades from the major league roster.

Trey Mancini is still here, so are Mychal Givens, Jonathan Villar and all the rest. They'll be at Camden Yards tonight to face the Toronto Blue Jays at the start of a 10-game homestand.

The play on the field once again is providing the news, rather than the rumors of possible moves off the field.

The Orioles' West Coast trip went rather well. They went 5-4, and we saw Stevie Wilkerson getting a save in Anaheim in the second-longest game in club history. The trip ended with Chris Davis hitting a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning Tuesday in San Diego.

Some nice things happened throughout as well. Anthony Santander and Renato Núñez kept hitting. So did Hanser Alberto, and Jonathan Villar - once he got past Arizona - had a hot bat. Richie Martin's offense continued to trend up.

The Orioles scored 31 runs in the four-game series in Anaheim, and have scored 83 while hitting 23 homers over the last 13 games. They went 8-5 in those games. The Orioles are 14-13 since June 28, winning series from Cleveland, Boston, Toronto and the Los Angeles Angels while splitting two-game series with Washington and San Diego.

Also, as the trip was beginning, the news came out that the Orioles have moved from No. 22 to No. 8 in the Baseball America organization rankings.

And we have surely seen some young players taking advantage of their opportunities this year. The growing list includes Alberto, Núñez, Santander, Martin, Pedro Severino, Chance Sisco, John Means and a few others.

During the trip, manager Brandon Hyde noted both team and individual improvements.

"That was kind of my goal this whole year was, I wanted to see, not only our team, but individuals improve over the course of the year," he said. "Guys are starting to come into their own, and that rolls into next year. All of a sudden you start getting more talented players, and the guys that are here have improved, and that's the positive thing. Sisco, Santander, Núñez, Severino. Those type of guys improving and rolling into next year."

For now, they're rolling into the next homestand, which includes four with Toronto, three with the New York Yankees and three with Houston. Following that is a road trip to Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. That is a tough run of 17 games.

Let's see how this club can fare in that stretch after playing well in this recent 27-game stretch. The trade deadline was very different in Birdland this year. The play on the field is the thing once again, starting tonight.