Opposite dugout: Trade deadline success has transformed surging Blue Jays

Manager: John Gibbons (8th season)

Record: 76-57

Last 10 games: 8-2

Who to watch: 3B Josh Donaldson (.304/.372/.589 with 36 homers, 111 RBIs), SS Troy Tulowitzki (4 HR, 13 RBIs), RF Jose Bautista (31 HR, 89 RBIs), 1B/DH Edwin Encarnacion (30 HR, 92 RBIs), LHP David Price (13-5, 2.47 ERA), LHP Mark Buehrle (14-6, 3.53 ERA), RHP Roberto Osuna (1.99 ERA, 16 saves)

Season series vs. Orioles: 7-5

Pitching probables:

Sept. 4: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez vs. RHP Drew Hutchison, 7:07 p.m., MASN2
Sept. 5: RHP Mike Wright vs. LHP Mark Buehrle, 1:07 p.m., MASN
Sept. 6: RHP Chris Tillman vs. LHP David Price, 1:07 p.m., MASN2

Inside the Blue Jays:

When teams make trades at or near the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline, they hope to add a piece or two to push them over the hump. By that measure, the Blue Jays may have had the most successful trade deadline ever. They made big deals - like acquiring shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Rockies and ace lefty David Price from the Tigers - and little deals - like getting a valuable bullpen arm in Mark Lowe from the Mariners. They filled needs with the acquisitions of veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins in the Tulowitzki trade and speedy outfielder Ben Revere from the Phillies. General manager Alex Anthopoulos was busy, but he's reaped the rewards of his hard work. Talk about a transformation.

Toronto had 11- and five-game winning streaks in August, and zoomed past the Yankees and into first place in the American League East. A lot has changed since the last time they played the Orioles, and the two teams are heading in opposite directions, the Blue Jays trying to cement their first postseason berth since 1993 and the O's attempting to stall a late-season free fall that has them a lot closer to last place than the playoff position they were hoping for.

Statistically speaking, there's really little mystery to the Blue Jays' success. A powerful offense north of the border makes up for what pitching deficiencies exist, and Toronto boasts the major leagues' top team in a variety of offensive categories: runs (730), home runs (185), on-base percentage (.335), slugging percentage (.450) and total bases (2,024). The moves at the deadline simply made a really good offense a lot better, lengthening an already impressive lineup. Those bats are providing 5.5 runs a game in offense.

The holdovers weren't exactly struggling with the bats. Third baseman Josh Donaldson is an AL MVP frontrunner with 36 homers and 111 RBIs to go along with a .304 average and clutch hits aplenty. First baseman/DH Edwin Encarnacion had 11 homers and 35 RBIs during a .407 August, and had a 26-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday. Right fielder Jose Bautista's slow start is a distant memory - he's up to 31 homers and 89 RBIs. Since coming over from Colorado, Tulowitzki hasn't hit much, but has much more range at shortstop than the departed Jose Reyes. Revere is hitting .324 since being dealt from last-place Philadelphia.

No one is more excited about the offensive explosion than the Blue Jays pitchers, who benefit from the most run support in the majors. And no pitcher has made better use of that support than right-hander Drew Hutchison, who starts Friday's series opener. He's won four straight starts and is 5-0 in eight starts since July 8. How does a guy with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP have a 13-2 record? By getting an average of 7.29 runs per game from his lineup. Fifteen times in his 25 starts, the Jays have given him seven or more runs. He's deadly at home, with an 11-1 record and 2.46 ERA in 14 starts at Rogers Centre. It doesn't matter that opponents slash .284/.339/.427 against him - at home, Hutchison is a different pitcher, yielding only a .226/.276/.317 line. But if you can get runners on, the righty has trouble keeping them from scoring, as a .325/.392/.458 slash line with runners in scoring positions suggests. He's been tough on the Orioles in his career, with a 5-1 record and 3.13 ERA in 10 starts, and he's 1-0 with a 6.57 ERA in two 2015 starts against Baltimore.

Lefty Mark Buehrle starts Saturday and will be seeking his 15th win, a benchmark he hasn't reached since 2008. Since the All-Star break, he's 4-1 with a 3.99 ERA, and he's making the most of his run support, an impressive 6.54 runs per game. In 14 of his last 16 starts, Buehrle has worked at least six innings, and he's 8-1 with a 2.99 run at home. Sixteen of the 19 homers he's allowed have been solo shots, but he allows opponents a .330 average in the first inning. In his career against the Orioles, he's 11-10 with a 3.52 ERA. The Orioles have seen a lot of Buehrle this season, and he's 3-0 with a 3.24 ERA in four starts against Baltimore in 2015.

Sunday starter Price has delivered a 4-1 record and 0.97 ERA since coming in a trade from Detroit. But that loss came in his last outing, when he yielded three runs in seven innings against the Indians. Strictly by the numbers, it'll be hard to beat Price in a day game, since he's 4-0 with a 1.76 ERA in daylight. Overall this season, foes are batting just .234 against him, with a .232 mark with runners in scoring position. He's surrendered 16 home runs, but 13 of them with no one on. In his career versus the Orioles, he's 7-4 with a 2.73 ERA, and 0-1 with a 1.29 in one start this season.