Wins have become scarce for Britton but he could get one today

When rookie lefty Zach Britton was 4-1 with an ERA of 2.84 at the end of April, his first month in the majors, who would have thought he'd have just six wins total with the All-Star game approaching? But Britton posted just one win in May and one win in June. It certainly wasn't because he had pitched poorly. His ERA is 3.38 through 16 starts. But when Britton took the mound in Atlanta today, he did so with just one win over his last 10 starts since a May 1 victory versus the Chicago White Sox made him a five-game winner. Britton was 5-2 with an ERA of 2.14 over his first nine starts and is 1-4 with a 5.22 ERA over his last seven starts, so there has been a rocky outing or two along the way. Yet, overall, his numbers are good and he is having a very solid rookie season. It would be nice to see him get a win today, and hopefully he won't have to hit any more homers to get that done. Britton hit a solo homer on a 2-1 pitch today in the third inning. In the fifth, he just came up with an infield hit to deep short. He limped a bit after crossing the bag and trainer Richie Bancells came out to look at him. Britton would stay in the game and O's fans everywhere could resume breathing. Here is a stat: Britton has hit safely in all three games this year when he has batted. He went 1-for-2 against Washington and 2-for-3 earlier versus Pittsburgh. So he is now 5-for-7 with a double, homer and two RBIs. O's pitchers are 9-for-21 (.429) on the year.