Looking back on a road series win, Crichton rides the shuttle

For the first time since the Orioles took two of three at Cincinnati April 18-20, they have won a road series. By taking the last two games at Tropicana Field, the Orioles win a series away from Camden Yards.

Now can they get two in a row?

The Orioles scored 16 runs and hit six homers the last two days in back-to-back wins over Tampa Bay. Even after going through a stretch in which they went 13-27 over 40 games, the Orioles find themselves just four games out of first place this morning. New York (40-33) and Boston (41-34) are co-leaders of the American League East, with the Yankees one percentage point ahead.

The Orioles are still an under-.500 team at 37-38, but they seem to have relieved some pressure - at least temporarily - with two wins in a row. Now they get to enjoy their first off day since June 5 before they play three games at Toronto beginning tomorrow night.

The Orioles will begin that series one game ahead of Toronto (36-39) for fourth place. They are 7-2 against the Blue Jays this year, winning all three series. They went 3-1 at Rogers Centre in April.

The Orioles dug themselves a big hole by playing mostly terrible baseball since May 10. They can't dig out in a few days, but maybe the weekend was a start.

Stefan hopes to be stayin': If there were frequent-rider miles for pitchers on the Norfolk-Baltimore shuttle, right-hander Stefan Crichton might lead the league.

He has now been called up to the Orioles from Triple-A six times and optioned back five times. His stays in the big leagues have lasted two days, eight days, two days, six days, two days and, so far this time, two more days. He should just keep suitcases in both cities.

But this is life on a pitching staff with a revolving door and for a pitcher trying to establish himself in the majors. In Triple-A, Crichton has been outstanding. He's gone 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA and three walks to 31 strikeouts over 29 1/3 innings for the Tides.

But for the Orioles his ERA is 8.03 and he's allowed 11 runs and 26 hits in 12 1/3 innings. But he did pitch 2/3 scoreless on two hits Sunday, and maybe it was the start of something for the right-hander, who was drafted in round 23 out of Texas Christian University in 2013. It was just his second scoreless outing of eight for the Orioles.

During an earlier callup, he told me the veterans in the bullpen have been showing him the ropes.

"I think a lot of that is how to conduct yourself. In the bullpen we have (Darren) O'Day and (Brad) Brach to kind of look up to. Just for how things are done. When you first get here, you just watch and observe, and they've provided a lot of guidance. It is easy to be intimidated in a big league clubhouse where we have a lot of guys that have been in the league a long time. But when they come up and give you advice it's easier, for sure."

Crichton said he feels the more chances he gets for the Orioles, the more comfortable it will be to pitch in a big league game.

"Absolutely. You still get that thrill. But the more I am out there, the more comfortable you get. The more you realize it is still baseball. I think anyone in this clubhouse ... we know we can do it. It always comes back to trusting your stuff. But that can be more easily said than done. But the more you go out, the more you see what you do in the minor leagues does translate," he said.

And that is about where Crichton's career is right now. The last two seasons he has done well at Double-A and Triple-A. Now he needs to show that in the bigs.

"You know it's like there are no more steps to take," he said. "On the farm it is all about working to get here. When you get here, it is a matter of staying here. Now it's not about how you get outs anymore, it's about getting them. In the minors you want weak contact, maybe some strikeouts. Here you just want to go into the game and get out of it. That keeps me around."

Crichton is basically a two-pitch reliever, throwing 65 percent two-seam fastballs and 35 percent sliders. While his fastball can touch - and even, at times, exceed - the mid 90s, Crichton knows both pitches will need to be going well for him to stick in the majors.

"I'm a very ... there is a not a lot to what I do. If I can keep the fastball down in the zone and mix in a breaking ball here and there, I've had success. I don't think that is an over-simplification. If I do that, then I get outs," Crichton said.

More outs will also likely mean less time on the shuttle.