The Cleveland Indians went 22-6 in June. They came to Baltimore on Friday night with the best record in the American League. They were 30-14 in their previous 44 games. But they left Baltimore after getting swept three in a row.
The Orioles, at 57-40, now own the best record in the AL and are on a 95-win pace. Some of the dire predictions by some fans just a few days ago have been washed away by a weekend of winning.
It seems as if the Orioles struggle for a few games this time every year, but it only lasts a few games. They pull out of it, a mark of a good team.
When we see Oriole magic like we saw yesterday - with Nolan Reimold's pinch-hit walk-off two-run homer in the ninth - it is another example that 2016 could be a special season for this team.
Reliever Darren O'Day returned to the club and got the win Sunday after he struck out the side in the ninth. O'Day has been on two playoff teams and one division winner in Baltimore. I asked him if this season is starting to feel like some of those previous seasons.
"Personally, I think that feeling has been here for a while," O'Day said. "A win like that, you go back at the end of the year and look through and kind of think about some wins that kind of told you a little about the team. What it's composed of and the guys that are on it, the guys that make this a really strong team. We felt that in spring training, but you learn more about yourself and about each other as the year goes on."
The word "resilient" has been used a lot to describe this team and it fits. They lost four in a row and were outscored 19-4 after Wednesday's loss at New York. They answered that by winning the last four by a combined 19-7 score.
We don't know if it will last, but the O's starting rotation has dialed it up a notch in recent games. O's starters have an ERA of 1.04 in the last four games and 2.90 over the last 12 games, allowing two earned runs or less eight times.
With the recent performance of the rotation, which now includes Dylan Bundy and Vance Worley, do the Orioles need to add more starting pitching?
My take is that if the Orioles have to give a promising prospect to acquire an innings-eating back-of-the-rotation type, I pass. Go with what they have, and use Worley, Tyler Wilson, Mike Wright or some other organizational arm to fill that role.
If the O's have a chance to acquire a pitcher better than that, depending what they have to give up, maybe that is a doable deal.
The so-called rental - a player that can be a free agent at the end of this year - may not be the right move right now. In recent seasons, the team has given up some key prospects for players no longer here. On the other hand, what if that rental player can make the difference in a close three-team race with Boston and Toronto?
The Orioles have a lot to consider over the next few days leading up the trade deadline in a week.
Good weekend for this group: At this weekend's Mid-Atlantic RBI Regional Tournament, the Baltimore Orioles Junior RBI team defeated Harrisburg RBI 7-3 to clinch a berth to the 2016 RBI World Series in Cincinnati, which begins Aug. 3. Managed by Bobby Gorsuch, the Orioles RBI team (comprised of 15 local Baltimore players) won their first four games during the weekend to advance to the championship Sunday morning, winning 5-0 over Prince George RBI, 11-1 over Norfolk RBI, 6-2 over DC RBI and 15-2 over Durham RBI. This is the first time in Baltimore Orioles RBI history that a team has advanced to the RBI World Series.
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