Did I Say 4? Well Now It's 5

So these Orioles guys must have some heart, eh? Make that 5 in a row after most people started writing off the Baltimore Orioles. 5 straight quality starts leading to 5 straight wins.

This particular brilliant pitching performance was delivered by Zach Britton. Today showed why Zach Britton is my favorite Oriole starter in quite some time. Hopefully, this start signified that Zach is finally healthy from all his injury issues. Britton picked up his 1st win of the season and moved to (1-0) in his second start of the year. He was rather effective for the birds giving them 6 strong innings. When he left the game, Cleveland still had a 0 on the board. Britton also recorded 5 strikeouts in his performance. His ERA now sits @ 3.60.

Luis Ayala entered the game for Britton and was also very good for 2 innings. Unfortunately for him, Buck left him in for a 3rd. In the bottom of the 9th inning, Ayala gave up a 2 run homer that made the game 4-2. Then he exited...

Who was there to clean up the mess? Well, Jim Johnson of course. Johnson did give up another run, but picked up a save in the 4-3 victory. That save gives Johnson 30 on the year! 30 saves for an Oriole pitcher in July! Amazing!

The offense didn't do too much, but it did enough. Nick Markakis continues to excel hitting from the leadoff spot. Markakis was 2-5 and is now hitting .276. He has brought life to a punchless offense since his return. I hope no Orioles fan sells Nick short again. This guy is the heart and soul of this team.

Markakis wasn't the only one to excel with the bat. Two Orioles hit huge home runs in this game. JJ Hardy was 2-5 tonight with his 14th HR. Hardy also had 3 huge RBIs. This was a great day for a struggling athlete. Hardy is still one of the best in the game. The other big HR was hit by Wilson Betemit. Betemit was 2-4 and raised his average to .255. The home run was Wilson's 11th on the season.

Let's keep the Oriole Magic going!

-Noland