The candy man can in the O's pen, plus a look at the road trip

In an Orioles bullpen that features two All-Stars, he can get overlooked. But right-hander Brad Brach is having another solid season for the Orioles, giving them another late-inning weapon.

Brach is 4-2 with an ERA of 2.72 and a .211 batting average against. He has not been scored on over his last 11 games, covering 15 innings. It is the second longest scoreless run of his career, behind a 12-game stretch from July 31-Aug. 28, 2014.

"I would actually like my fastball command to be a little better, but lately just been feeling comfortable and been able to make pitches when I need to. I've been feeling comfortable with all three pitches. In years past, in hitter's counts, like 2-0, 3-2, I felt I had to throw a fastball. This year being able to throw any pitch in any count is big. I've been 100 percent comfortable with all of my pitches," Brach said.

Over 49 2/3 innings, Brach has walked 17 and fanned 54. He ranks tied for fifth in the American League in strikeouts by a relief pitcher. He said that when he can find that consistent fastball command, it sets everything else up for him.

"It is huge," he said. "The difference between strike one and ball one. That is obviously a huge difference with an opponent's batting average and everything. It is one of the things you work on every day."

Brach has shown the ability to get out left-handed hitters (.184 average against) and right-handed hitters (.247 average against). At times, he forms the start of a game-ending 1-2-3 punch of him, Darren O'Day and Zach Britton.

"I think it is the way baseball is going right now," Brach said. "If you have guys to shut it down from the seventh to the ninth, it totally changes the game. You see Kansas City, the Yankees, teams that have those shut down guys. We have to keep it going, and hopefully we can be mentioned with those guys."

Brach feels the state of the Orioles is solid as they head on a West Coast road trip starting tonight.

"I think we are where we need to be," he said. "I know we are close in the wild card chase, and the Yankees are playing well. Every day we come in here it feels the same, whether we are 10 games out or in first place. That is a good thing. If we started to feel any panic in here or uneasiness, I haven't seen or felt that at all.

"It is pretty amazing how even keel it is in this clubhouse. There is never a feeling of too much excitement or too much of a lull. It's groundhog day, every day. It keeps you nice and even keel. If you get too high or low in this game, you are asking for trouble."

The road trip begins: It was around this time last year that the Orioles started an important West Coast road trip. They begin another one tonight.

The trip last year was right out of the All-Star break, and the Orioles were then a first-place team. They headed to Oakland, Los Angeles and Seattle, leading the AL East by four games. They had a solid trip, going 6-4 and returning home with a three-game lead.

The Orioles are six games out in the division and one back for the second wild card as they begin another trek west tonight to Oakland, Los Angeles and Seattle. This is a nine-game trip.

The Orioles have not been a good road team this year. They are 21-31 in road games and have lost 10 of their last 15. Of their eight road trips this season, they have had two winning trips and six losing road trips. They could use a winning road trip this time around.

How will the Orioles fare over the next nine games on the West Coast?