The Orioles may be slowly turning it around as road trip continues

The Orioles, after an extended stretch of losing, may now be trending up again. Their offense and their won-loss record.

In the last two games at Cleveland, they scored 16 runs on 30 hits with nine doubles, a triple and two home runs. They went 12-for-31 (.387) batting with runners in scoring position. They created a lot of scoring chances and cashed a few of them in. They scored two or more runs in five different innings the last two games at Cleveland.

With those two wins, the Orioles now have the third-best record in the majors.

.604 – Cleveland (67-44)

.595 – Philadelphia (66-45)

.593 – Baltimore and the New York Yankees (67-46)

.580 – Los Angeles Dodgers (65-47)

Any one of those five teams could win the World Series. In a head-to-head matchup the Orioles could just as easily win over any of the four other teams or get beat by that team.

Maybe there is no great team in the majors this year. No one that will run away with the best record or look unbeatable when the playoffs begin.

With a series still to come late this month versus the Dodgers, the Orioles are 11-9 in games against those other top clubs, going 3-4 against Cleveland, 2-1 versus Philly and 6-4 against the Yankees.

The Orioles offense is perking up. In going 7-5 their past 12 games, they have scored six runs or more seven times.

In this span they have hit .291 as team with an .859 OPS and are scoring 6.2 runs per game. They have 24 doubles, four triples and 17 homers for 45 extra-base hits in this span.

"It’s tough to be consistent offensively, but the quality of the at-bat was much better these past two days," said manager Brandon Hyde after the O’s gained a four-game split. "Give our guys a lot of credit for getting a split out of here. That’s a tough place to play, a tough team to play. Kind of getting our butts kicked the first two games, the way we responded and swung the bat the last two games has been nice.”

O’s 20-year-old rookie infielder Jackson Holliday, who went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts in his first stint in the majors in April, now has three straight two-hit games. He is 6-for-11 in this span.

In five games since his return to the team Wednesday against Toronto, Holliday is 7-for-18 with a double, two homers and seven RBIs. He is batting .389 in this span with an OPS of 1.254.

He hit his second homer in the fourth inning Sunday, getting a first-pitch curveball and driving it 362 feet to right center. He has shown a nice up the middle approach with several of his hits in this second go around in MLB.

Adley Rutschman on Sunday went 2-for-4 for his first multi-hit game since July 9. He has five RBIs the last two days.

Gunnar Henderson’s two-run line drive homer in the fourth inning ending a 15-game homerless drought. His 29^th homer was his first since July 14 and he had just one his last 24 games.

But over his past five games, Henderson is 10-for-21 with two doubles, a triple and a homer with five RBIs.

The Orioles are getting it going again on offense and maybe they are in the process of getting their season back on track.

Now three of their next four series and 10 of the next 12 games, are against AL East teams. They are 23-10 this year (.697) against division opponents. The Orioles are 7-1-2 in 10 AL East series.

Starting Tuesday, they play three at Toronto and later Tampa Bay. And after two at home with Washington, play four games at Oriole Park versus Boston. The Orioles are 6-4 this year against the Blue Jays, 6-1 versus the Rays and 5-1 against the Red Sox.

Farm promotions: The Orioles are moving three players from Low-A Delmarva to High-A Aberdeen on their farm.

* Aron Estrada, age 19, from Venezuela. Over 91 games for the Shorebirds he has hit .296/.361/.434/.795 with 18 doubles, three triples, eight homers, 31 steals, 53 runs and 43 RBIs. Estrada was originally signed by the Orioles for $175,000 on Jan. 15, 2022. A versatile defender, he has made starts this season at second, short and third base and at all three outfield spots.

* Anderson De Los Santos, age 20, Dominican Republic. Over 82 games he has hit .205/.308/.339/.647 with eight homers and 42 RBIs. The O's signed De Los Santos to a $350,000 bonus on Jan. 15, 2021. He has made starts this year at first and third base. 

* Lefty pitcher Jared Beck is also moving up. This year for the Shorebirds, the 7-foot Beck has gone 4-5, with a 5.06 ERA in 37 1/3 innings. He was drafted in round 13 in the 2022 MLB Draft.