Orioles had the look of a playoff team on impressive road trip

For the Orioles, maybe it was a playoff primer. Playing three good teams on the road and seeing good pitching just about every night, they went 6-4 and added two games to .500 on their record.

It was impressive and it was the latest evidence that the Orioles are very much a strong contender to win the American League East. While that hasn't happened yet and we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, the O's showed well against playoff-caliber competition.

The team is playing .627 ball over the last 51 games at 32-19 and the talk that they are just a .500 team has gone the way of the $2 bill.

We all know that, even in losing a series at Oakland, they were very close to winning that series. They were very close to sweeping the Angels.

This all has happened due in large part to pitching. The O's team ERA on the road trip was 3.17. Over the last seven games of the trip, it was 1.86. The starters' ERA on the trip was 2.92 and it was 1.96 over the past seven games.

We can date the starting pitching roll to June 9. Since that date, O's starters have worked to an ERA of 3.12 and the Orioles are 27-16. That is a winning percentage of .628 and a 101-win pace for a full year.

Yes, the Orioles are playing 100-win good baseball over the last 43 games.

How about Buck Showalter's comment on MASN's "O's Xtra" Sunday? He said, "Is there such a thing as a man crush on your team?"

What a great comment. I think a few fans are crushing on the Orioles these days.

To make the playoffs and to win in October, you need good pitching and defense, some timely hitting and the ability to win tough games on the road. The Orioles just showed all the above.

How about this stat: The Orioles have not had a less than .500 road trip all year.

* Went 3-3 at Detroit and New York
* Went 4-3 at Boston and Toronto
* Went 4-2 at Minnesota and Tampa Bay
* Went 3-3 at Kansas City and Pittsburgh
* Went 5-5 at Milwaukee, Houston and Texas
* Went 4-2 at Tampa Bay and New York
* Went 3-1 at Boston and Washington
* Went 6-4 at Oakland, Anaheim and Seattle

The Orioles are 10-4-4 in road series this year, have won 17 of 25 away from the Yard and have a 32-23 road record for the season.

Doesn't it feel like weeks ago that Oakland A's fans were booing Manny Machado?

It feels like a long time since the Orioles played at Camden Yards and it has been a while, since July 13. They return to the Yard tomorrow.

They come home a first-place team. One that just passed some majors tests and one that looks good enough to hold off the challengers in the AL East. Maybe one good enough to do better than that in a few months.