O's need a win today to avoid sweep against Milwaukee (plus more from Elias)

Well, the Milwaukee Brewers are really swinging it right now. They were playing well before they got to Baltimore and have put up 22 runs over the first two games of this series.

Milwaukee has not lost a series this year and can sweep this one today after wins by 11-1 and 11-5 at Oriole Park.

The Brewers are now 10-3 after going 92-70 last year. They have been in the playoffs five times in the last six seasons, winning division championships in 2018, 2021 and 2023.

They have now scored seven runs or more in six consecutive games, tying a club mark first set in 1982 and matched in 1989. They have scored 58 runs in those six games and are now 7-1 on the road.

Heading into this series, O's pitchers had allowed as many as five runs in one game just twice this year. In this series their team ERA increased from 2.86 to 3.87.

Birds starters have allowed 12 runs in eight innings this series and the bullpen has allowed 10 runs in 10 innings versus Brewers batters.

More from Elias: Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, in his first press conference with local reporters since the end of spring training, discussed several topics at Camden Yards on Saturday.

Click here to read what he said about Jackson Holliday's call-up and much more.

During the nearly 20-minute interview session, Elias was asked his early impression of the Orioles' new ownership group led by Baltimore native David Rubenstein.

“Really great. Really exciting energy," said Elias. "David Rubenstein, Michael Arougheti, all the guys in the group, I’ve gotten a chance to know going back into spring training. We’re getting into the flow of the season. We’re talking a lot. They have wonderful plans for the franchise. I think everyone in Baltimore and Maryland should be really thrilled about the vision that this group has laid out.

“It’s probably a little unusual to take over control of the team literally or exactly on Opening Day. But that is what they did. So, they're drinking out of the fire hose a little bit. The season’s going, we’re all going 100 miles per hour. But we’ve settled into a really good communication flow and they're really excited about the team."

Elias was asked if the payroll will increase under the new owners.

“Well I mean, that’s not for me to answer right now," Elias said. "Like I said, they’ve been in control of the team for a little bit more than a month. If the team continues to play well and continues to be in a playoff position, I’m certain everyone involved, from my office on up, will be looking for opportunities to add at the deadline, if there are deals that make sense. But we’re a long way from there and we’ll take it as it comes."

Elias said that after years of focusing so much on the Orioles' future during the rebuilding, a lot has changed since the club became a contending team.

"I look at as now we’re kind of a normal good team," he said. "When you are a good team, the present is the most important thing. The front office’s job ... you can’t be exclusively focused on the present, so we’re now in a balancing act, and that is basically what the job is.

“But the present is at the top of the list. When we first got here and we were rebuilding, it was the opposite. And you know, it’s nice to now be in a situation where the present is the lion’s share of any consideration when weighing any kind of move. But we’re going to continue to keep an eye on the future and try to maintain a long-term healthy picture. But we’re not going to be scared to prioritize the current year. This 2024 team – we’re rolling (into the season) right now. We’re looking to win this year. We want to get back to the playoffs and make a better run than we did last year.

“We have extremely high belief in this 2024 team. And it’s pretty self-evident when you do something like the Corbin Burnes trade. We wanted a No. 1 starter and we got him. That speaks to how we feel about 2024."

Having said that it has been a good weekend for the Brewers and not so for the Orioles, who must win today or they will be swept for the first time in the regular season since losing three in a row at Detroit from May 13-15, 2022.