The Orioles returned home and kept winning last night. And in the last week or so some of their wins have been coming by bigger margins. Friday night James McCann tied his career high with five RBIs and Jordan Westburg hit a three-run homer in a 10-3 romp over the New York Mets.

McCann had a two-run single, two-run double, an RBI single and a walk. His five-RBI game tied his career high from Aug. 12, 2017 for Detroit.

Westburg’s second big league homer was a three-run blast to center, hit 424 feet on a 96 mph fastball in the last of the seventh. Westburg went 2-for-3 with two walks and is hitting .276 with a .785 OPS.

The Baltimore offense has produced 30 runs the last four games and 43 in the past six games. In their last 26 games, the Orioles have scored five runs or more 14 times, and they are 14-0 in those games.

Since playing on "Sunday Night Baseball," the Orioles' wins have come by 9-3, 4-2, 13-3, 6-1 and 10-3 margins. They are 5-1 the last six games with a plus-27 run differential.

The Orioles enjoyed their trek to Toronto, taking three of four from a Blue Jays team that had won 21 of 28 games heading into that series. The Orioles outscored the Blue Jays 24-10 in the series. 

They left Canada with a 67-42 record and have now won four of five, eight of 12 and 18 of the last 25 games. They are 13-7 in the second half.

Tonight the Orioles play the New York Mets, and the Birds have lost their past two series against National League teams. They went 1-2 versus the Dodgers and Phillies, but they began the second half with a three-game sweep of Miami.

The Orioles are just 15-14 (.517) against NL teams but they are 52-28 (.650) against American League teams.

The Orioles pitched well at Rogers Centre, with their starting pitchers recording a 2.92 ERA in the four-game series while the bullpen allowed just one run in 10 1/3 innings. Over 35 innings at Toronto, Baltimore pitchers allowed 18 hits and 10 runs with 13 walks and 41 strikeouts.

TORONTO – Right-hander Jack Flaherty, who will make his O’s debut today, he has faced the Toronto Blue Jays just once before in his career. And it was this year.

On April 1, no fooling, he pitched five no-run, no-hit innings as St. Louis beat Toronto 4-1. He walked seven, but none scored and fanned four in a 95-pitch outing.

While he is 7-6 with a 4.43 ERA for the year, he is 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA over his last 13 starts and 75 1/3 innings. He had a 6.29 ERA in early May before this stretch began.

What got his season turned around at that point?

“Doing the simple things right,” he said yesterday at Rogers Centre. “I don’t think I was doing that early on. Starting with fastball command. Walks added up. Been able to limit those a lot more and things have gotten a lot better.”

TORONTO - After he threw yet another quality start for the Orioles last night - as they beat Toronto in the series opener - right-hander Kyle Gibson discussed today's trade deadline.

He told reporters if nothing big happens today, he is fine with it. He loves the current group in the Orioles' clubhouse and sees enough talent there right now to keep winning.

“In 2018 we (the Twins) traded away eight players at the deadline," he said. "Never seen that many traded away. And at the time, we might have been three games out of the wild card. There are teams that absolutely need to play well around the deadline, but I don’t think this is one of those teams. I think we just want to play well to keep going in the right direction.”

He said it's important that players have been able to block out any deadline distractions this year.

“Very important. It’s easy to look around and see moves and get anxious, get antsy. Wait to see where the dominoes will fall for us. Do we have needs? Sure. Are there players that could make our team better? Sure. But I think we have a really darn good team and if we don’t make this massive splash, I think this team is really good. I think the Fuji trade (adding Shintaro Fujinami) is really big for us. The flexibility he adds in the bullpen is huge.

TORONTO – When the Orioles played in Toronto in May, they swept a three-game series at Rogers Centre. It was their first sweep at the place since April 22-24, 2005. They returned tonight to find out if they could win again at a ballpark where O’s wins over many years were scarce.

The Orioles were also looking to build on their series win over the weekend against the Yankees and see if they could take another American League East series. Since mid-April, they are 7-0-2 in nine series within the division.

And they got a nice headstart on winning another tonight with early offense and a Gunnar Henderson longball to lead 4-0. They beat Toronto 4-2 to improve to 65-51 with their eighth win in 12 games and 16^th in the past 22 contests.

The Orioles remain leading the AL East by 1 1/2 games over the Rays, who won against the Yankees. 

The Orioles are 24-11 in series-opening games and 14-4 in road series openers.

TORONTO – The Rogers Centre used to be a place where the Orioles came to often lose. But the 2023 Orioles are different. They came here in May and swept three from the Blue Jays by scores of 6-2, 6-5 in 10 innings and 8-3 in 11 innings. 

It was a stunning result when you consider the O’s had not swept three at Toronto since April 22-24, 2005. They had not swept an American League East series since taking three from the Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 2-4, 2021.

In the 2018 season, the Orioles went 0-10 in Toronto.

As the teams begin a new four-game series tonight in Toronto, it’s a big series with the Blue Jays playing better baseball and hoping to still make a run for the top spot in the division. This is their chance to gain on the Orioles.

The Blue Jays (59-47) lost in 10 innings 3-2 to the Angels on Sunday, but they are 5-2 their past seven games and 14-7 over the last 21 games. In their past 55 games, Toronto is 33-22 and playing .600 ball.

The Orioles begin a four-game series in Toronto tonight with Adley Rutschman settled in as the leadoff hitter and Gunnar Henderson behind him.

Rutschman has reached base six times in two games, including three singles and a walk last night.

Colton Cowser is in center field, flanked by Austin hays in left and Anthony Santander in right.

Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter. He’s a career .306/.368/.613 hitter with 15 home runs in 45 games against the Blue Jays.

Kyle Gibson is 9-6 with a 4.68 ERA and 1.323 WHIP in 22 games, and the one starter who isn’t an innings concern to the Orioles. He’s totaled 127 this season, with his career high 196 2/3 in 2018.

PHILADELPHIA – Christmas carols played between innings tonight at Citizens Bank Park. A man dressed as Santa Claus danced on the field. The dining room served traditional holiday favorites like carved turkey and ham, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

The Orioles weren’t in a giving mood until they got to the ninth inning.

Bryson Stott doubled off Yennier Cano with two outs to score Bryce Harper and tie the game, J.T. Realmuto reached on an infield hit, with Jorge Mateo slow to get the ball out of his glove, and Alec Bohm singled into left field in the Phillies' 4-3 walk-off win over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 37,200.

Ryan O’Hearn homered off Phillies left-hander Matt Strahm leading off the eighth inning, his third tie-breaking hit in the last four games, but the Orioles fell to 62-39 overall and 4-2 on the trip. The Phillies won for only the second time in seven games.

The Orioles are 19-10 in one-run games. They had won six straight.

For the Orioles, this has been a road trip marked by close wins. They are 4-1 on the trip, winning the four games by a combined five runs after Monday’s 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Orioles (62-38) are playing .620 ball at the 100-game mark they reached last night. They now lead the American League East by 2 1/2 games over Tampa Bay, 6 1/2 over Toronto and 9.0 over Boston and New York.

The Orioles have won three in a row, five of six and 13 of 16 games. They have outscored their opponents 93-57 over the 16 games. They are 8-3 in the second half and have now gone 72 consecutive series without being swept.

In Orioles club history, the six teams that played in the World Series all won 59 or more of their first 100 games. The 1969 team posted the best 100-game mark at 69-31, followed by the 1979 team (67-33) and the 1966 World Series champions (66-34). The teams in 1970, 1971, 1997 and 2023 all went 62-38. The 1983 World Series winners won 59 games. Every O’s team that won 62 or more advanced to the postseason.

Jordan Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle hit solo homers last night, and Colton Cowser notched his first career extra-base hit with an RBI double in the ninth that broke the 2-2 tie. Westburg hit his first career homer and Mountcastle hit No. 12 this year. He blasted a slider with a 112.3 mph exit velocity, and hit the ball 451 feet out over the center field fence. It is the fourth-longest homer by an Oriole this year.

PHILADELPHIA – The Orioles have put outfielder Aaron Hicks on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and recalled Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Ryan McKenna.

Hicks was removed from last night’s game with hamstring cramping after diving for a fly ball. He underwent testing to determine whether he had a strain.

Cedric Mullins is on the injured list with a right adductor groin strain, and Hicks joins him after batting .252/.349/.435 with four doubles, a triple, six home runs and 20 RBIs in 42 games since the Orioles signed him on May 30.

McKenna batted .253/.315/.392 in 62 games with the Orioles. He’s hitting .217/.294/.500 with two doubles, a triple and three home runs in 12 games with Norfolk.

Colton Cowser could start in center field tonight against Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker.

PHILADELPHIA – Adley Rutschman is out of tonight’s lineup to open the series against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. However, the All-Star catcher’s health is fine.

Manager Brandon Hyde is giving Rutschman a rest day, whether it lasts the full nine innings or until he’s needed off the bench.

“He played all four games in Tampa on the turf, caught three of them,” Hyde said this afternoon, “so just give him a day off today.”

Closer Félix Bautista won’t be used tonight after pitching four of the last five days, recording three saves and a two-inning win.

Bautista leads the American League and is third in the majors with 28 saves. He’s gotten a save or win in 33 of 45 appearances for a 73.3 percentage that would be the fourth-highest in club history behind Jim Johnson’s 74.6 in 2012, Randy Myers’ 77 in 1997 and Lee Smith’s 82.9 in 1994, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Adam Frazier squared to bunt twice last night against Tampa Bay reliever Robert Stephenson and didn’t make contact, both cutters missing outside the strike zone. His next attempt produced a foul ball, and finally, the sacrifice that moved automatic runner Aaron Hicks to third base.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was playing for one run. Get a sacrifice fly from rookie Colton Cowser to take the lead and send closer Félix Bautista back out for the bottom of the 10^th inning.

Hyde might not try it with any other reliever, but Bautista isn’t any other reliever.

Call him “Mountain,” and watch his ERA shrink to a mole hill.

Bautista got six outs in the Orioles’ 4-3 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field. They won’t be swept in 71 consecutive series. They’ll try to win their 19^th this season.

After chasing the Tampa Bay Rays all season – a team that at times early this year seemed uncatchable – the Orioles caught them yesterday. They beat the Los Angeles Dodgers while the Rays lost to Texas and got swept in a three-game series.

So while the clubs are even atop the American League East in the games behind column, the Orioles are two games ahead in the loss column and lead the division by percentage points. The Orioles (58-37) are playing .611 ball and Tampa Bay (60-39) is playing .606 ball.

The Orioles, on a pace for 99 wins, have the best record in the American League and trail only Atlanta (61-33, .649) for the best mark in MLB.

The Orioles' 8-5 Wednesday win completed a 4-2 homestand and kept them from being swept by Los Angeles. The Orioles have not been swept since May of 2022 and have now gone 70 straight series without being swept. They became the eighth team in MLB history to go 70 or more series without being swept. Next on the list is the Atlanta Braves, who were not swept in 72 consecutive series from 2003-2005.

Since going through a stretch where they lost six of seven games, the Orioles are 9-2 in the last 11 games, outscoring opponents 75-41 in that span. The O's are batting .288 with an OPS of .868 in those 11 games. The Orioles scored 15 runs against the Dodgers and have scored 52 in the last eight games. At 4.98 runs per game for the year, the O’s rank fifth in the AL. The Rays are second at 5.31 runs per game.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles are sticking with the same 26-man roster tonight as they begin a four-game series against the Rays, who trail them by percentage points in the American League East.

This is the latest that the Orioles have sat atop the division since Aug. 12, 2016.

Japanese right-hander Shintaro Fujinami, acquired from the Athletics last night for left-hander Easton Lucas, hasn’t reported to the team.

Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing third base. Henderson has a 15-game on-base streak.

Anthony Santander is playing first base. He’s reached base in 16 straight games.

Only two of the six clubhouse televisions this afternoon were tuned into the first game of the Rays’ doubleheader against the Royals. The Cubs-Red Sox also aired on two of them. Or players could choose between the Scottish Open and a scouting combine men’s basketball tournament.

No one seemed interested.

One player sat in a recliner for a few minutes during the media’s access, got up and left. The place emptied for a meeting. Further evidence that the first-place Rays aren’t an obsession.

The Orioles may check the standings, but they know how little it matters if they don’t win.

They might have lost their center fielder again.

The second half started for the Orioles on Friday night as the first half ended – with the Orioles winning. They improved to 20 games over the .500 mark for the first time this year with a 5-2 win over Miami. Adam Frazier produced his first career two-homer game with three hits and four RBIs in the win.

The Orioles (55-35) moved to within 1 1/2 games of the Rays, who were rained out Friday and plays a day-night doubleheader in Kansas City today.

Tampa Bay won the day portion of the twinbill 6-1, so the O's are now again two games back.

The Orioles are 20 games over .500 before August for the first time since 1997. 

The Orioles have a six-game win streak and have outscored their opponents 49-11 during this run. They have scored 26 runs the past three games. The Orioles have hit nine homers the past two games.

The Orioles carry a six-game winning streak into tonight, with the Rays leading them by only 1 ½ in the American League East.

A right-handed lineup against Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett puts Austin Hays in the leadoff spot and Ryan Mountcastle at cleanup. Mountcastle is the designated hitter, with Anthony Santander at first base.

Jordan Westburg is the second baseman, Gunnar Henderson moves to third and Jorge Mateo gets the start at shortstop.

Colton Cowser stood on deck last night with two outs in the eighth inning but didn’t bat. He’s waiting to make his Camden Yards debut.

The Orioles have hit eight home runs in the last two games after totaling eight in the previous 13.

Yesterday in this space we discussed the 100-pitch mark for starting pitchers in big league baseball. It is becoming more and more rare for some to hit the century mark in pitch cout. The Orioles have just 11 games this year where their starter went 100 or more pitches. Yet they still rank 12^th in MLB and seventh in the AL as their starters average 88.9 pitches per game.

There are just six teams in MLB that average 90 or more starter pitches per night at the All-Star break and the leader is the Chicago White Sox at 94.1. No MLB team even averages 95 pitches per game from their starting rotation.

The White Sox lead the majors with 33 games with a hurler going 100 pitches or more this year, per Stats Perform. Philadelphia is next with 27 followed by San Diego and Toronto with 25 and Atlanta with 23. At, the O's rank tied for 19th. Colorado is last with just two such games and Tampa Bay has second fewest with five. 

O’s manager Brandon Hyde discussed in this space yesterday the trend throughout the industry where, and he said, “for some very good reasons” teams don’t train pitchers on the farm to throw this many pitches. Some pitchers have to learn to get deeper only when they get to the majors.

“I’d love to push these guys as far as they possibly can go. Yeah,” Hyde said recently. “You know, it’s a lot easier to do when you are up 6-1 than in a 3-2 game when you walk the leadoff hitter in the sixth or seventh inning. Every circumstance is totally different and things change on a night-to-night basis. But I go into a game, excluding Tyler Wells last year, saying I’m going to take our pitcher that day as far as I can possibly go to try and win the game. Thinking that way.”

One of the Orioles’ post-break decisions has been made and revealed.

It took less than 24 hours after the last out of the All-Star Game.

The rotation is set for the weekend series against the Marlins at Camden Yards, with some of the anticipated rearranging. Dean Kremer starts Friday night, followed by Kyle Gibson Saturday night and Kyle Bradish Sunday afternoon.

The Marlins are expected to start Sandy Alcantara and Braxton Garrett in the first two games, with Sunday TBA.

The break allowed manager Brandon Hyde to push back Tyler Wells, who is emerging as the staff ace but has thrown 104 2/3 innings, which is one more than his 2022 total.

It has become a barrier for starting pitchers in Major League Baseball. A pitch count that reaches 100. We don’t see it very often anymore. Commonplace back in the day, so to speak, not so much anymore.

In fact there are just six teams that average even 90 or more pitches per night from their starters among the 30 clubs in the major leagues right now.

94.1 - Chicago White Sox
92.1 - Houston
91.1 - Washington
91.0 - Toronto and St. Louis
90.6 - Los Angeles Angels

That is the list. No other team averages more than 90 pitches a game from their starters.

The team ranking last is a shocker. It’s Tampa Bay at 74.1. I imagine that's due in part to the Rays' frequent use of openers.