With suddenly improved offense, O's return home to face Cleveland tonight

Orioles fans had been hoping their team's offense would break out and it did. The Orioles scored 23 runs in the last three games. But they lost two of the three games. Just when it looked like they could sweep the two-game set in Pittsburgh with Chris Tillman on the mound, and the offense starting to hit, the sweep didn't happen. This season has been one stop and start after another. Can the O's get on a roll? It has looked like they would several times and it doesn't happen. They are now a 1/2 game out of first, but dropped to third place behind New York and Toronto. There is still plenty of baseball to play, and with their rotation pitching well - last night notwithstanding - they are going to get on a roll at some point one would think. Over those three games the Orioles went 36-for-110 at bat for a .327 average with six doubles and six homers. They have gone 13-for-29 (.448) with runners in scoring position. But there has to be some concerns about Tillman, who is now 4-2 with a 4.21 ERA in 10 starts. Tillman had an ERA of 0.84 his first three starts, but it is 6.19 over his last seven starts. If you take away his shutout, his ERA is 8.23 over the other six starts. In the first and second innings of his starts Tillman has an ERA of 9.00 with four homers and 14 walks given up in 19 innings. He has pitched fewer than six innings in five of his last seven starts. Tillman has said he is fine physically, but is struggling with his fastball command. It must be hard to pinpoint the issue or he or the coaches would have done that by now. Doesn't seem to be a simple adjustment. Who would have thought at this point of the season Tillman could be among the weakest links in the five-man rotation? If he is not hurting - and how can we not take him at his word at this point - he has to figure out a way to get his command back and stop his early-game struggles. He threw 49 and 34 pitches in the first innings of two starts against the Pirates. The offense has picked up the pace. But now there is some concern over the O's No. 1 pitcher. It has been that kind of up and down season. Injuries and inconsistency by some players. Coming off a three-game sweep of Detroit, where they scored 22 runs against that strong staff, the Cleveland Indians are in town tonight to begin a four-game series. The Orioles are now a 1/2 game out of first in what has been a mediocre American League East to this point. With 44 games down and 118 to go, they return home with some concerns over their top starter and look to find a stretch of games where they can put offense, defense and pitching all together.