masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgA couple of mid-game notes as the Orioles hold a 5-1 lead after three and a half innings against Boston, on a day they hope they can clinch their first playoff berth since 1997.

* Jim Thome is 2-for-2 today with a pair of RBI singles. That gives the veteran eight hits over his last 15 at-bats with two doubles, a homer and four RBIs. Yes, he’s been a nice pickup.

* From Sept. 17-25, Manny Machado had just one extra-base hit, a double, over a nine-game stretch. Now he is 6-for-11 over his last…A couple of mid-game notes as the Orioles hold a 5-1 lead after three and a half innings against Boston, on a day they hope they can clinch their first playoff berth since 1997.

* Jim Thome is 2-for-2 today with a pair of RBI singles. That gives the veteran eight hits over his last 15 at-bats with two doubles, a homer and four RBIs. Yes, he’s been a nice pickup.

* From Sept. 17-25, Manny Machado had just one extra-base hit, a double, over a nine-game stretch. Now he is 6-for-11 over his last three games with a double, three homers, five runs scored and six RBIs. The run has increased his average from .259 to .276 and OPS from .692 to .771.

* Over his last three games, Chris Davis is 5-for-11 with four homers and nine RBIs. Davis is batting .448 (13-for-29) during an eight-game batting streak. Davis has hit seven homers over his last 20 games and 12 in his past 32 games.

* As a team the Orioles are batting .310 (31-for-100) the last three games scoring 25 runs. In those games the Orioles have hit five doubles and 11 homers. They are 10-for-21 with runners in scoring position.

* Orioles pitchers have allowed two runs or less in seven of the last 11 games.

* Orioles starting pitchers have recorded 10 quality starts in the last 17 games, pitching to an ERA of 3.32 in that time.

* The Orioles bullpen has not allowed a run over the last four games, covering 9 2/3 innings.

* Jim Johnson recorded his major league leading 49th save last night. He has recorded saves in 18 of his last 23 games.

* Brian Matusz retired both batters he faced last night. He now has an ERA of 1.42 in 17 appearances as a reliever.

* The Orioles are now 28-9 in one-run games and 72-0 when leading after the seventh inning.

* The Orioles have won three in a row, 10 of 13, 13 of 18, 18 of 26 and 24 of 34 games. The Orioles are 36-16, for a win percentage of .692 over the last 52 games.