*The Orioles swept the three-game series by a 12-3 score. They allowed exactly one run on four hits in each of the three games.
They won three with a team batting average of just .222, going 22-for-99 vs. the Rays. They hit just one homer in the series, but it was a big one by Brian Roberts on Saturday night.
They had just 11 hits in the series' first two games, then added 11 more on Sunday. Brian Roberts was the only Oriole to hit safely in all three games.
The O's swept three without getting a single RBI from Vlad Guerrero or Derrek Lee who hit a combined .174 (4-for-23) in the games.
*The O's picked up their first road, three-game sweep of Tampa since September 30-October 2, 2005. They are 7-1 over the last eight games vs. the defending AL East champion Rays.
*The sensational pitching produced a three-game, team ERA of 1.00. The O's allowed just three earned runs during the weekend while walking 11 with 24 strikeouts.
The three starting pitchers combined to go 20 innings, allowing just one run on six hits with seven walks and 17 strikeouts. The starters posted an ERA of 0.45 in the three wins.
*The Rays' hitters batted just .094 vs. the Orioles' starting pitchers.
Went 3-for-26 vs. Jeremy Guthrie
Went 0-for-18 vs. Chris Tillman
Went 3-for-20 vs. Zach Britton
*The O's have sole possession of first place in the AL East at 3-0 while NY and Toronto are 2-1 and Tampa and Boston are 0-3. While O's pitching allowed just three runs in the series win, NY gave up 19 runs and Boston pitchers allowed 26.
*The Orioles are 3-0 for the first season since 1997, the year they went wire-to-wire in first in the East. The Orioles are now 37-23 under manager Buck Showalter for a win percentage of .617.
*The Orioles now host the Tigers on Monday in the home opener and the start of a three-game series. The clubs split ten meetings last year and Detroit outscored the Orioles 47-45 in those games. The O's went 17-20 last season vs. the AL Central.
*Fan questions: What was the most exciting part of the Tampa sweep for you? What surprised you most? Any concerns or worries despite a 3-0 mark?
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