Yard Work podcast: Episode 4

Happy Saturday, O's fans. Welcome to this week's episode of Yard Work. We've got lots to talk about as the Orioles continue to battle for the top spot in the American League East.

The Birds returned home from a long road trip that saw the team take a small step back, despite winning two of the three series against the Angels and Indians, respectively. Putting a damper on those, of course, was a three-game sweep at the hands of the Astros, but as we've said on every episode of Yard Work, it's a long season and those ups and downs will happen.

Of course, it's hard to label any series of games as "must wins" when the calendar is barely in June, but some fans and media members were calling this current homestand a true test for the Orioles. With games against the Red Sox, Yankees and Royals, it was going to be a legitimate look at whether this 2016 team was just enjoying a little early-season ride atop the AL East, or whether a division title and third playoff appearance in five years was a realistic possibility.

Through five games of the homestand, it sure looks like the latter option. After dropping the first two games to Boston, the Orioles didn't roll over. In fact, they did quite the opposite. Their offense came out swinging in Wednesday and Thursday's wins, putting up a combined 25 runs, including seven home runs hit in Thursday's series finale. Add to that a comeback win against the Yankees on Friday night, and the Orioles once again find themselves in first place, just a few percentage points ahead of those pesky Red Sox.

In this week's episode, Steve Melewski and I will recap the O's homestand to this point and give our thoughts on the team's resiliency to bounce back after that brief rough stretch.

Meanwhile, pitcher Yovani Gallardo underwent his first rehab start on Thursday in Frederick and Melewski was there to take in all of the action. We'll get his report on the right-hander's outing and what lies ahead for both Gallardo and the Orioles' starting rotation.

Also, while the starters continue to ebb and flow from week to week, the Birds' bullpen has been just as expected - sensational. Relievers Zach Britton and Darren O'Day are the names most familiar to fans, but Mychal Givens and Brad Brach have quietly combined to go 10-0 on the season, often times holding down the fort through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. We'll take a closer look at just what has made those two pitchers flourish.

Left fielders for the Orioles continue to surprise so far this season. We watched Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard get off to a terrific start, tallying a .322 batting average and home and making some outstanding plays in the field with his glove. He certainly seemed to become one of the bright spots early on and captured the hearts of a lot of Orioles fans. Yet with the hot bat of Hyun Soo Kim, Rickard has found himself out of the starting lineup for the first three days in June. Having too many good bats and too few roster spots is definitely a good problem to have, so what's the answer? We'll talk about what we've seen unfold over the past few weeks.

As always, listen and comment below with any questions or comments you might have. Enjoy!

Note: The Yard Work podcast will be recorded each week; therefore, all Orioles records and statistics will be current at time of recording, but may be different when podcast is downloaded. Please don't hold that against us!