O's game blog: Orioles' team ERA has improved each month

Hard to believe, but three months are now in the books for the 2014 season. There's now three more to go in the regular season for the Orioles. The O's had their best record of any month in June, and their team ERA has gotten better each month: O's in March/April: Went 12-12 on 4.5 runs per game and a 4.49 ERA O's in May: Went 15-15 on 3.9 runs per game and a 4.00 ERA O's in June: Went 16-12 on 4.5 runs per game and a 3.43 ERA Pretty simple formula: Pitch better and win more games. Over their last 24 games - most of June - O's starters have 14 quality starts with an ERA of 3.13. That kind of pitching can take a team to the playoffs. The Orioles ended June losing three of five, but over longer stretches, they have won eight of 13 and 11 of 19. Since May 31, they are 17-12. A win tonight would give them a solid month of playing .600 ball. After all the ups and downs, that would be a nice trend. The Orioles have scored eight, six, six and seven runs against Texas this year. Over those four games, they have 27 runs on 48 hits, with seven doubles and 10 homers. They have a team average of .327 and OPS of .973 against the Rangers. Adam Jones, who homered last night, is 10-for-17 (.588) against Texas with a double, three homers and seven RBIs. Against O's pitching, Adrian Beltre is 8-for-15 (.533) with a double, three homers and six RBIs. Tonight, T.J. McFarland (0-1, 2.70 ERA) gets the start for the Orioles against Texas right-hander Nick Martinez (1-5, 4.65 ERA). McFarland got his only other big league start last June 28 at home against the Yankees. He pitched just 2 2/3 innings and gave up seven hits and three runs. However, he goes into this start off a month of June in which he pitched to an ERA of 0.57. That is the best of any American League pitcher with 10 or more innings in June. He is no stranger to the starting role. He has made 112 career minor league starts. This season for Triple-A Norfolk, he made five starts, going 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA. Over 24 innings, he gave up 21 hits with eight walks, 25 strikeouts and a .226 average against.