Caleb Joseph on Jayson Aquino, plus impressive pitching stats

The Orioles still are not scoring many runs, but they continue to get outstanding starting pitching and they continue to win.

Last night's 4-2 victory over Boston gives them a major league best 12-4 record. They have won four games in a row by a combined 10-3 score. They are 5-0-1 in series for the season. They are 6-1 at home. They are 10-3 versus American League East teams.

The Orioles went 2-8 in 2016 against Boston in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. They have matched that win total, starting this season 2-0 at OPACY versus the Red Sox.

So yep, it's been a pretty good start, and the O's have been in first place all alone or tied every day of the 2017 season.

Left-hander Jayson Aquino is the latest to star in a starting role. This one had to be pretty meaningful to the 24-year-old Dominican Republic native. Pitching for his sixth organization, he made his first Major League Baseball start and posted his first major league win.

Caleb Joseph was back there catching him, and he told me that Aquino's curveball and slider were very inconsistent through the night, and that they relied mostly on a fastball-changeup combo. Aquino had success mostly with two pitches.

"That's tough to do, and that shows he can be effective in this league," Joseph said.

Aquino doesn't throw hard but his pitches were difficult for the Red Sox to square up last night.

"He just has so much movement on his pitches," Joseph said. "Sometimes they sink, sometimes they cut. The changeup was really there all night. We were trying to get the curveball and slider going. He made pitches with both when he needed to. Tremendous job against a tough lineup."

Joseph said Aquino showed poise and composure both before and during the game.

"I thought he did a great job. We threw a lot at him before the game, making sure we were covered on the signs. And making sure we had signs prepared for runners on second base. And then we went over the scouting report. As a young player, that can be overwhelming, getting so much information at one time. He did a great job and his in-game composure was really good.

"He's a fast worker like Wade Miley, and sometimes you have to back off that just a bit. But he did a real nice job. It was very encouraging and now we have a chance to sweep, and a lot of that was due to his tremendous performance tonight," Joseph added.

Updated notes on O's pitching:
* The club now ranks sixth in the American League in team ERA at 3.38 and fourth in starting pitcher ERA at 3.50. The O's are sixth in bullpen ERA at 3.16.

* The Orioles have two shutouts the past four games and have allowed two runs in two games to Boston in this series. The Red Sox are 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position in the series.

* The Orioles have allowed three runs their last 42 innings.

* The O's have recorded eight quality starts in the last nine games. In those eight games, the rotation ERA is 1.36

* In the last four games, the Orioles bullpen has not allowed a hit or run. Over 8 1/3 innings, the bullpen hurlers have walked one and fanned eight.

Today, the Orioles go for their first three-game home sweep of Boston since June 9-11, 2015. Two former O's farmhands match up in the finale. Right-hander Kevin Gausman (1-1, 7.23 ERA) faces lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1, 5.23 ERA).