Checking on the O's offense and preparing for a trip to Salisbury

I am not ready to say the Orioles' offense has turned the corner or that it's finally living up to its preseason hype, but I will say it is functioning on most of its cylinders right now. Maybe for the first time all year. The top six in last night's order all are hitting pretty well right now. That is J.J Hardy, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Derrek Lee, Matt Wieters and Mark Reynolds. The Orioles are not getting much offense out of left field right now, but most players manning the other positions are hitting pretty well recently. The Orioles have just had a very productive four-game stretch and their 54 hits the last four games is more than any four-game stretch this season. The team average is .360 (54-for-150) over the last four games and the team is batting .326 (15-for-46) with runners in scoring position the past four games. The team average has increased from .253 to .259 since Friday. No one is saying this lineup threatens anything teams like the Yankees and Boston send out nightly, but it's a nice change and an improvement for the 2011 Orioles. Much was expected from this lineup back in April and maybe it's time for some of that to get delivered. Five Delmarva Shorebirds, led by Manny Machado, are on the Northern Division roster for tonight's South Atlantic League All-Star game which the Orioles' affiliate, Delmarva, will host in Salisbury tonight. I am heading to Perdue Stadium to cover tonight's game and all the pregame festivities. The Shorebirds staff figures to put on a good show with a Fan Fest featuring Earl Weaver, a home run hitting contest, the pregame ceremony and the game featuring players like Machado and Bryce Harper. Pete Kerzel from MASNsports.com will provide interviews and updates on the Nats' prospects in the game and I'll cover the five Shorebirds' players. Matt Winter from our staff will shoot some video to be posted here. We should have this thing covered from all angles so check back often today and tonight for extensive coverage here. Machado, who is batting .276 with six homers and 24 RBIs over 38 games, has hit just .182 since returning from a knee injury. The kid is not superman but we should get a chance to talk with him today about several topics so check for that later. Also in the game from Delmarva are infielder Ty Kelly, who is 10th in the league batting at .312, catcher Michael Ohlman and pitchers Jacob Pettit and David Walters who leads the Sally League with 17 saves. It should be a fun time with a lot going on today and tonight at Perdue Stadium so check back often today right here at MASNsports.com