Are the Orioles elevating their play in time for the stretch run?

Maybe it is not enough of a sample size to make any judgements at all, but the Orioles seem to have elevated their play in the last few games.

They went into St. Petersburg to face a Tampa Bay team that was 12-8 in its previous 20 games and with a winning record since the All-Star break. They then won 7-3 and 11-2 at Tropicana Field. Yes, the Rays are in last place, but they were 16-8 in their last 24 home games before this series. In their previous three American League East series, Tampa Bay had gone 2-2 versus Boston, 1-2 against Boston and 2-1 versus Toronto. So they were 5-5 against the top two AL East teams.

Meanwhile, something important for the Orioles has been having center fielder Adam Jones back in the lineup. They went 3-1 against Washington with Jones starting. Then he had one at-bat the next night and left a game at New York. The O's went 2-4 without him versus the Yankees and Blue Jays. They are 4-1 since he returned to the lineup.

It is not a complete coincidence. But he has been just one part of an offense that has put up 18 runs on 23 hits the last two days. The Orioles are 8-for-22 (.364) with runners in scoring position in this series. This was after they went 7-for-60 (.117) with RISP the previous 10 games. Yes, those two-run singles, two-run doubles and grand slams make a big difference.

Manny Machado hit his third grand slam of the season last night. The last Oriole to hit three in one season was Chris Hoiles in 1998. The most any Oriole ever hit in one year was five by first baseman Jim Gentile in 1961.

Last night, four O's bullpen pitchers - Brian Duensing, Mychal Givens, Donnie Hart and Tommy Hunter - combined for four scoreless innings. Over the last five games the O's bullpen has allowed one unearned run over 14 1/3 innings.

The expanded rosters have helped the Orioles beef up in the outfield, add some speed and some fresh bullpen arms. Few maneuver that roster as well as Buck Showalter. They've had strong Septembers under Showalter before. Maybe another one is at hand.