The Orioles have received excellent pitching from their starting rotation in the past nine games, including Jeremy Guthrie's six solid innings against the Toronto Blue Jays tonight. Orioles starters have allowed 20 earned runs in 58 1/3 innings during that span -- that's a 3.09 ERA -- while producing six quality starts.
It's no coincidence the Orioles are 6-2 in those starts and take a 4-3 lead into the eighth inning tonight.
We know how things tend to go with Guthrie on the mound, so we shouldn't pencil this one in the win column just yet. But the right-hander has done his part at Camden Yards tonight. Before handing the ball over to the bullpen, Guthrie allowed three earned runs on six hits in six innings while striking out five.
His only major mistake was -- you guessed it -- a home run. Tonight it was a three-run shot by Brett Lawrie in the second inning. But Guthrie pitched well the rest of the way, including when he worked his way out of a bases-loaded no-out jam in the fifth. He hit 94 miles per hour on the gun a few times in his final inning.
Besides Brian Matusz, five of Baltimore's six recent starters are coming off outings in which they have allowed four or fewer earned runs. Zach Britton and Alfredo Simon, in particular, have been sharp.
That has to be in Buck Showalter's mind as the Orioles manager mulls over going with a six-man rotation.
