O's still not making a dent in their playoff odds

Through 31 games, the Orioles continue to hover around the .500 mark. They are playing .484 ball via win percentage at 15-16. And they have played a difficult schedule.

Of the club's 31 games, 26 have been played versus teams that have a current winning record and 12 have been played versus first-place teams in Boston and Oakland.

That strength of schedule at .522 is the toughest in baseball, per FanGraphs.com.

The Orioles are 12-14 against winning clubs. They have gone 3-3 against Boston and Oakland, and 3-4 versus the Yankees and Seattle Mariners. They are 3-2 versus clubs with losing records in Texas and Miami.

But despite a respectable record against a tough schedule, to include 39 percent of their games against first-place teams, FanGraphs' playoff projection still gives the Orioles a 0.00 chance to make the playoffs. Maybe that is more of a function of being in a very tough division. Who knows for sure? But Detroit, which is 9-22, has been given a 0.1 percent chance to make the postseason.

The playoffs projection can be found here.

After pitching his no-hitter, John Means campaigned for his teammates. He thinks his club is better than pundits give it credit for.

"It's about time," said Means. "I think we have a lot of fun guys to watch, to be honest with you. I think we have some great hitters. (Cedric) Mullins, (Austin) Hays, (Trey) Mancini, there's a bunch of them. And a great bullpen and great rotation. I think we have a really good team. It's about time people started paying attention."

At their current win percentage, the Orioles would go 78-84 over a full season.

Hot bat at Norfolk: I guess, really, it's a bit early to say someone has a hot bat on the farm. But Triple-A Norfolk second baseman Jahmai Jones had quite a game on Wednesday at Jacksonville. He went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and two triples. Pretty strong day for Jones, who is 23 and was acquired for pitcher Alex Cobb and cash considerations on Feb. 2.

He was once ranked in the top 100 prospects list. Before the 2018 season, Jones was No. 89 on the Baseball America ranking and No. 93 for MLBPipeline.com. He briefly played in the majors last August for the Angels, going 3-for-7 in two games.

When we saw box scores from the Orioles' alternate site, he put a few solid games together there too.

During an interview the night before opening day on the farm, Tides manager Gary Kendall said Jones indeed had been swinging a good bat for his club.

"Yeah, showing different things," said Kendall. "Power, doubles, home runs. Really driving the ball in the alleys and playing a good second base. He had a really good camp. He did everything he was asked. He runs the bases well, and looking forward to him being a big contributor on this ballclub."

Jones posted an OPS of just .653 in 178 career games at Double-A, but his bat was trending up late in the 2019 season. Maybe we are seeing more of that now from Jones.

He did go 0-for-3 yesterday and is now batting .333 (4-for-12) for the Tides.

Two farms teams are unbeaten: The O's Double-A Bowie and high Single-A Aberdeen affiliates won again last night, and both are now 3-0.

Catcher Adley Rutschman hit his first Double-A homer and added a two-run double, going 2-for-4, as Bowie beat Altoona 8-4. Starter Kevin Smith threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings. The three Baysox starters this year - DL Hall, Kyle Bradish and Smith - have thrown 13 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing nine hits with five walks and 22 strikeouts.

Aberdeen beat Wilmington 5-3 as Kyle Brnovich, acquired from the Angels in the Dylan Bundy trade, threw five scoreless innings on one hit with six strikeouts. Shortstop Joseph Ortiz went 2-for-3 with a triple and RBI. He is batting .417 (5-for-12).

Low Single-A Delmarva (2-1) beat Salem 8-4 as catcher Jordan Cannon had two hits, including a homer. Gunnar Henderson hit a solo homer - he homered in the first inning again - and is batting .250 (3-for-12) with two homers and three RBIs.

Triple-A Norfolk is winless at 0-3 after losing 7-1 at Jacksonville. Spenser Watkins gave up three runs over four innings. The Tides were held to three hits. Outfielder Yusniel Diaz is off to a 1-for-12 start.