Mike Wright: "Right now I feel better than I have all season"

They've come back.

The Royals are making their first visit to Camden Yards tonight since Game 2 of last year's American League Championship Series. Did you miss them?

The hurt and anger may linger for many of you. The Orioles swept the Tigers in the Division Series and couldn't win another game, losing all four to Kansas City by a total of six runs. They couldn't catch a break and the Royals caught everything.

Case in point: The Royals scored four runs in the top of the third inning of Game 1, the last three on Alex Gordon's broken bat fly ball that dropped just fair inside the right field line. The Orioles tallied one run in the bottom half on Adam Jones' RBI single, but Gordon made a diving catch in left-center field to rob Steve Pearce and limit the damage.

And so it went.

The Royals won the opener 8-6 in 10 innings and they took Game 2 after scoring twice in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 tie. Darren O'Day was tagged with both losses, though closer Zach Britton also labored.

Britton walked three batters in Game 1 and let an inherited runner score, along with one of his own, in Game 2.

You know the rest of the story. A pair of one-run losses at Kauffman Stadium and the end of the 2014 season.

You also know how the 2015 season is playing out. The Orioles lost 15 of 18 games before posting two straight wins at Yankee Stadium to close out their road trip. They're five games below .500 and tied with the Mariners at 6 1/2 back for the second wild card.

Chris Davis leads the majors with 41 home runs. Nelson Cruz hit his 40th yesterday for the Mariners. Both teams are long shots to make the playoffs. Do we draw any conclusions?

The Orioles need to win every series. Heck, they need to start sweeping these suckers. They haven't run the table against the Royals in a three-game series at Camden Yards since May 24-26, 2011. The Royals haven't swept the Orioles in a three-game series in Baltimore since Aug. 28-30, 1998.

Of course, I checked the box scores from the Royals' sweep. Pat Rapp beat Sidney Ponson in the opener despite serving up Rafael Palmeiro's 41st home run and Mike Bordick's ninth. Brian Barber beat Mike Mussina the following night, and Chris Haney beat Juan Guzman in the final game despite serving up Bordick's 10th home run.

The Orioles lost three games by a total of three runs. This sort of thing has been going on for years.

The Orioles lost three of four games in Kansas City on Aug. 24-27. They're sending Mike Wright to the mound tonight for his eighth major league start and ninth appearance.

Since tossing 14 1/3 scoreless innings in his first two starts, Wright hasn't worked more than five innings in his last five outings. He was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on June 20 after allowing four runs and walking four batters in 1 1/3 innings in Toronto.

Back in the rotation with Miguel Gonzalez on the disabled list, Wright returned to Rogers Centre on Sept. 5 and allowed three runs and seven hits over four innings. He walked only one batter.

"Honestly, right now I feel better than I have all season," Wright said. "It was a little disappointing to give up those three runs and get the loss in Toronto because of how good I felt. I made a few mistakes and they're such a good team that they made me pay for it, but as far as my confidence goes, I feel as good as I have all season."

Wright is here to help the Orioles win and also help his own cause. He's basically auditioning for a spot in the rotation for the rest of the season and into 2016.

Gonzalez could come off the DL and make a start or two. Tyler Wilson could rejoin the Orioles after Norfolk is through with the International League playoffs. Wright needs to earn a chance to take the ball every fifth day.

"I'm just approaching it like I'm going to stay in the rotation for the rest of the season, you know? But really, all that matters is my next game. I know I get the ball on Friday and that's all I'm really focused on right now," Wright said.

"It's always good to get up here and get an opportunity. We're still in it, so each game matters. We're definitely coming out here trying to win. It's good when we have this good of a team and to just go out there and have fun."

There hasn't been much joy when playing the Royals, who possess the best record in the American League at 83-56 despite dropping back-to-back series for the first time since July 30-Aug. 6. They've lost seven of their last 10 games.

Ben Zobrist is batting .368 (7-for-19) since moving into the leadoff spot.

Left-hander Danny Duffy faced the Orioles on Aug. 25 and allowed two runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He's 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA in four career games (three starts) against the Orioles and 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in two games (one start) at Camden Yards.

The current Orioles are 8-for-46 against Duffy. Adam Jones, who's expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing the past two games with a sore right shoulder, is 1-for-9 with three strikeouts. Manny Machado is 0-for-6 with three strikeouts, Chris Davis is 0-for-6 and Matt Wieters is 2-for-4 with a double.