Some notes on the bullpen, starters and more after a sweep of the Rays

Tommy Hunter had pitched in five of the last seven games and Zach Britton had pitched in three in a row. Even without two of their key bullpen arms, the O's relievers did a great job in closing out that game last night.

Ryan Webb, Brian Matusz and Darren O'Day pitched the final 3 2/3 innings without allowing a run and giving up just two hits. Both hits came off O'Day to start the last of the ninth, but three quick outs followed over the next six pitches and the sweep was secured.

The O's bullpen pitchers allowed just one run in 10 innings over the three games against the Rays.

Here is something a little odd: The O's starters are not pitching deep into games many nights, but O's starters have now allowed three earned runs or less in 10 straight games. The starters' ERA is 3.16 in that stretch.

O's starters have gone less than six innings in six of the last eight games, but their ERA in that stretch is 3.07 and the team is 6-2 in those games.

Here is another good stat: The Orioles have now won their last seven games decided by one or two runs. They are 7-3 in one-run games and 4-3 in two-run games, and the total mark there of 11-6 in the close games is solid.

That is a winning percentage of .647 in those games. The 2012 playoff-bound Orioles played a remarkable .701 ball in games decided by one and two runs.

There are some similarities to the club's 2012 success in that they are winning the close games and getting solid contributions from a lot of players. Reserves like Steve Pearce, Steve Clevenger, Delmon Young and Steve Lombardozzi, who is at Triple-A now, have often come up big.

The club is now a season-high four games over .500 for the first time, Manny Machado has yet to produce an RBI or extra-base hit, and key players like Chris Davis, Machado, J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters have missed time.

When you consider that the Orioles went 2-11 in their last 13 games against Tampa Bay last season, their 5-0 start against the same team this year is big. Some say Tampa Bay is down now, but they entered this series having won four of five against the Red Sox and Yankees, and felt they were about to get on a roll. Instead, they got rolled out of their own park.

The Orioles have pitched to an ERA of 1.60 against the Rays, holding them to eight runs over the five games. Tampa Bay batters have hit just .213 in the season series with a slugging percentage of .275. The trio of Evan Longoria, Wil Myers and Desmond Jennings are a combined 11-for-59 (.186).

The Orioles just went 4-2 on a road trip where they scored 18 total runs and went just 6-for-42 (.143) with runners in scoring position.

Is that a good sign, cause for concern about the offense or maybe both?

A lack of homers, a lot of injuries, ninth-inning jams on the road - they've all been there, but through it all, they have emerged to go 18-14.

I think some will be expecting the Orioles to roll right over Houston this weekend. I imagine it will be harder than some think, but the Orioles have won six of their last eight and 13 of the last 20.

I'd say the team is functioning on all cylinders, but are any of the cylinders really humming right now?

It's been a strange season in that respect, but the O's come home tonight playing well overall and the long grind of the 2014 season continues at 7:05 p.m. at Camden Yards.