Orioles starters have outpitched Mariners in this series

Sometimes, a little pitching and a little offense can go a long way. You probably know that the Orioles have scored three runs or fewer in more than half their games this year and are 2-16 in those games. So they almost always lose when they score so little. But if they can get four runs, they almost always win. After Wednesday's 4-2 victory over Seattle, the Orioles are 14-3 when they score four or more runs in a game. The starting pitching has set the tone the past two nights and for two games, the Orioles' starters Jake Arrieta and Chris Tillman outpitched Mariner stalwarts Michael Pineda and Felix Hernandez. Starting pitching in this series:

Orioles:    12IP    7H   3ER  2.25 ERA
Mariners:  11IP  14H  7ER   5.73 ERA

Starting pitching is so critical for any team. The Orioles have gotten 19 quality starts on the season and two in this series. They are 13-6 in those games. Meanwhile, Kevin Gregg picked up his seventh save last night and has pitched scoreless ball in eight of his last nine appearances. In those games, he has pitched nine innings allowing just four hits and one run to lower his ERA on the year to 2.57. Koji Uehara pitched in back-to-back games for the first time all year in this series. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings on Tuesday and pitched a shutout eighth last night in the win, throwing 12 pitches, 11 for strikes. The Orioles improved to 16-19 with the win. Last year they didn't get their 16th victory until June 6. Tonight, the Birds go for a sweep behind Zach Britton, who is 5-2 with an ERA of 2.93. He is 3-1 with an ERA of 2.52 in four Camden Yards starts.