John Means: "I'm excited for where this team is going"

For a team that desperately needed better starting pitching after a first half when Baltimore's rotation ERA was 6.11, the Orioles are starting to get that. Deeper outings. Better outings.

A nice change, to say the least.

To see Matt Harvey and John Means hold Detroit to one run over the last two nights over their combined 12 innings was encouraging. A Tigers team that was 10-4 since the break heading into Friday's game. A Tigers team that beat Minnesota 17-14 Wednesday night and then beat the Orioles 6-2 Thursday to extend its home win streak to 10 in a row.

They had been playing quite well, and Harvey and Means ended that.

Wouldn't it be nice to have Means and Harvey head up a rotation that pitches much better in the final two months?

"Yeah, I mean, with how well he's been pitching lately, I wasn't really holding up my end of the bargain," Means said, referring to Harvey, after last night's 5-2 win. "So, just being able to kind of follow his outing up. But I mean, he's pitching a lot better than I am. So, it is nice to kind of have us two rolling. Honestly, we have some other guys pitching well too - (Spenser) Watkins and (Alexander) Wells are both doing really well. I'm excited for where this team is going."

And the Orioles have now won six of eight and are 9-5 since the All-Star Game. They were playing .315 before the break and are playing .643 ball thus far after it.

"I feel like guys are starting to kind of feel for what they need to do to have success at this level," Means said of his team's improved play. "Especially the young guys. They're seeing how teams are approaching us, especially from the pitching side, and adjusting to it. Which is the name of the game, making those constant adjustments. So, it's really cool to see."

Added third baseman Maikel Franco, who hit his 11th homer Saturday night: "We're playing pretty good. We're coming together and showing a lot of energy. We're fighting and taking good at-bats. The pitchers are doing a pretty good job, the hitters too. So, we're playing really good so far."

Franco would like to see his own stats follow the recent team trend.

"It's going to be really, really important for me," he said. "I just try to do everything that I can. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. I will just try to compete every day and don't think about what happened in the beginning and try to finish strong."

As for the starting pitching, the Orioles got just 16 starts of six innings or more in 89 games heading into the All-Star break. That is 18 percent. That number went down to 17.6 percent when they got just 7 2/3 combined from their first two starters coming out of the break. But since Harvey's first post-All-Star Game outing, they have gotten six games of six innings or more their past 12 games.

That is more like it. The Orioles are 6-0 in those games. The rotation ERA is 4.82 in the second half and O's starters have allowed one earned run or none in six of the past 12 games.

Means rolled through six strong innings last night, allowing four hits and one run, and said he was most pleased that he threw 99 pitches - his most since the 113 he tossed in his no-hitter on May 5.

"John Means was outstanding," manager Brandon Hyde said. "Really good curveballs tonight, I liked his curveball. Thought he mixed pitches extremely well. I just thought one fastball that (Eric) Haase put a good swing on, on a fastball probably above the zone, for the only run given up. But six extremely strong innings. Mixed speeds extremely well, pitched in and out. You know, was just really efficient with his pitching."

Ryan Mountcastle went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI last night. It was his fifth game on the year with three or more hits. He has 10 hits and seven RBIs over his past 10 games.

The O's can start this road trip by taking three of four at Detroit when they conclude the series this afternoon. Right-hander Spenser Watkins (2-1, 3.10 ERA) faces lefty Tyler Alexander (1-1, 4.80 ERA).