masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgA couple of Orioles stats and facts to check out as Zach Britton takes the mound in Chicago today in Game 3 of a four-game series in search of his fifth win.

* When starting pitcher Chris Tillman gave up just one earned run over five innings last night, it was the sixth time over the last 11 games an O’s starter allowed two earned runs or fewer. They have had eight quality starts in that stretch and the starters’ ERA is 3.29 over the 11 games.

* In this series, the Orioles’ bullpen has…A couple of Orioles stats and facts to check out as Zach Britton takes the mound in Chicago today in Game 3 of a four-game series in search of his fifth win.

* When starting pitcher Chris Tillman gave up just one earned run over five innings last night, it was the sixth time over the last 11 games an O’s starter allowed two earned runs or fewer. They have had eight quality starts in that stretch and the starters’ ERA is 3.29 over the 11 games.

* In this series, the Orioles’ bullpen has allowed just two runs over eight innings after giving up 19 earned runs over the previous 17 innings.

* The Orioles ended this April with a 12-13 record and they are 3 1/2 games out of first place. They ended April of 2010 at 5-18 and were 12 games back of first.

* Nick Markakis actually finished this April with more homers (two to one) and more RBIs (six to four) than he had last April. But in April of 2010 he batted .284 with an OPS of .839, thanks in part to the 10 doubles he hit in the month. He ends April 2011 batting .204 with just two doubles and an OPS of .561.

* The Orioles picked up their 12th win last season on May 14.

* The O’s have scored 72 runs in their 12 wins (6.0 per game) and 32 in their 13 losses (2.5 per game).

* Matt Wieters did not play Saturday night, getting his first day off since April 16th. He had played 11 straight games, going 12-for-37 (.324) in those games with three homers and 12 RBIs.

* Brian Roberts has three doubles in his last five games and five over his past 12 games. Luke Scott is 7-for-19 during a five-game batting streak. Adam Jones, who had several big hits on the last homestand, is 0-for-12 over his last three games.