Taking a shot at some mid-season Orioles grades

The Orioles are one game past the season's halfway point with a 43-39 record 82 games into the 2015 season. Time to take a look back and pass out some grades on the team.

Some statistics are through Saturday's games.

Starting pitching: C

This is one area that needs to get better over the second half of the season. On their way to 96 wins, the 2014 O's starting rotation had an ERA of 3.61 to rank fifth in the American League. Right now, that number is 4.18 and the Orioles are ninth in AL ERA.

Two members of the starting five had poor first halves in Chris Tillman (5.57 ERA) and Bud Norris (6.63 ERA). So that means the Orioles' opening day starter from the last two years and a 2014 winner of 16 games have not lived up to expectations so far.

While they have struggled, two other members of the rotation are in the top 10 in the league in ERA with Wei-Yin Chen eighth at 2.84 and Ubaldo Jimenez 10th at 2.96.

Who saw either Tillman or Norris falling off this much or Jimenez improving this much?

Another issue that has surfaced is the lack of innings from the starters. The Orioles are 14th in the AL in starting pitcher innings. From May 13-30, the O's had a run of 11 games in a 17-game stretch where their starter pitched seven innings or more. But that looks a bit look a 17-game outlier now, as it has happened just five times in the past 34 games.

If the Orioles are to have a big second half and come close to or threaten the win total of last year's team, rotation improvement in the second half will be a key. For now, Kevin Gausman is in and Norris is out and now in the bullpen.

Bullpen: B+

The O's 'pen ERA of 2.82 ranks third in the AL behind Kansas City (2.03) and Houston (2.71). This unit has had a strong first half even though they allowed runs in the first 10 games of the season, pitching to an ERA of 5.30 at that point. But since April 29, the Orioles' bullpen ERA is 2.23.

The Orioles have a lockdown closer in Zach Britton, who has saved 23 of 24 with a 1.82 ERA and should be headed to the All-Star Game. If they ever selected a non-closer reliever to make the All-Star Game, it might be Darren O'Day. As good as he was as an Oriole in 2013-14, he's even better now with an ERA of 1.14, a batting average against of .155 and a 0.82 WHIP. And, oh yeah, AL batters are 0-for-11 against O'Day with seven strikeouts with the bases loaded.

Chaz Roe has provided a big lift here, while pitchers like Tommy Hunter and Brad Brach have been solid. The O's could get better production from their left-handers, but this group has had a strong first half.

Defense: B+

The Orioles, after an inconsistent start with the gloves, are once again one of baseball's best defensive teams. They seldom beat themselves and that happens more in the majors than you would think, as we've seen this year when the O's played the Red Sox or White Sox, for example.

The Orioles have not replaced Nick Markakis' defense in right field, but they range from solid to outstanding at other spots on the diamond.

It seems Manny Machado is now making great plays nightly again and, wow, that arm. We should not take that talent for granted. The O's are very solid up the middle and their infield leader, J.J. Hardy, is back after missing the first five weeks.

The Orioles began Sunday tied for the top spot in the AL in fielding percentage and with the fewest errors. They value defense and they win with defense.

Offense: B-

The Orioles might rank better in some stats here than we realize. They are fifth in AL runs scored, batting average, slugging and OPS. They rate ninth in OBP, but we knew they would not score too highly here. And their OBP of .312 is just two percentage points behind the league average of .314.

The inconsistency of the offense is a concern, though. The recent 26-inning scoreless stretch had Birdland quite nervous.

The Orioles averaged 5.6 runs per game in April, 3.3 in May and 5.3 in June. That is more good than bad, but the lack of runs in May was more than just one or two series of struggling. Another extended stretch like that could mean the difference between winning a division title or coming up short.

While Machado is having a breakout season, Jones has fallen off after his torrid start. Jimmy Paredes has produced much more than expected, while Steve Pearce has produced less. The group of corner outfielders has been inconsistent, as well.

But the 2015 Orioles are scoring 4.51 runs per game, while the 2014 division champs scored 4.35. A grade of B- may in some respects be a touch harsh, but the inconsistency is the reason for it. In that recent scoreless stretch, the Orioles gave up a total of six runs in three games, yet lost all three.

Will this group have a more consistent second half with fewer highs and lows?

Conclusion:

The Orioles are just one game out of first place with 80 games to go. The AL East doesn't feature a single great team, but it is the only division in the majors with four teams with 40 or more wins. And Boston is not out of it yet. This race could be crazy and intense over the final weeks if the majority of those clubs can stay in contention.

I still see the Orioles winning this division, but they won't be lapping the field as they did last year. How do you grade the Orioles so far?