Orioles Magic is ahead of schedule

Jul. 10—I tried, I really did, to restrain my excitement for the Baltimore Orioles over the past two months, but I can't conceal it anymore.

For the first time since 2005, the Orioles have won eight consecutive games. And, through 87 games, they're just one game under .500 at 43-44 after a four-game sweep of the Angels.

The same Angels that trot out two of the greatest players of this generation, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, and have a payroll of $190 million. The Orioles, meanwhile, are dead last at $45 million.

Max Scherzer, by himself, is making more this season ($58 million) than every Orioles player combined.

It's inconceivable for the Orioles to be playing this well, especially in the American League East, which features four teams well clear of .500.

Baltimore is last in its division, 19 games back of the New York Yankees entering the Yankees-Red Sox Sunday night game. The Orioles would have the second-most wins in the AL Central and third-most in the AL West.

After beating the Angles on Sunday, the Orioles moved to just 2.0 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card race. Unreal.

The streak began after lockdown closer Jorge López blew back-to-back saves against the Minnesota Twins on July 1 and 2, which put Baltimore nine games below .500.

Since then, López and the Orioles bullpen have been untouchable. The offense has waged dramatic comebacks in regularity, and, finally, fans have had a reason to come out to Camden Yards.

Of the eight wins during the streak, five have been one-run wins, something advanced metrics would say is unsustainable.

For the first time since 2018 against a team not the Red Sox or Yankees, the Orioles drew more than 25,000 fans to the ballpark in successive games. It didn't hurt having floppy hat and Hawaiian shirt nights on Friday and Saturday, respectively, either.

The more you dive into the Orioles' roster, the less sense it makes.

Dean Kremer has been Baltimore's best starting pitcher during the run, as he carried a 23 1/3 scoreless innings streak into July before it ended against the Rangers on July 5. He has a 2.15 ERA over seven starts — last season, Kremer was putrid, going 0-7 with a 7.55 ERA in 13 starts.

Tyler Wells, a Rule 5 pick in 2020, has been Baltimore's most consistent starter over the course of the season. He started zero games in 44 appearances a season ago.

This year, Wells is 7-4 with a 3.28 ERA in 79 2/3 innings pitched over 17 starts.

For some reason, seemingly every pitcher in an Orioles uniform is having a career year during 2022, and Baltimore doesn't even have ace John Means healthy.

The secret to Baltimore's success mirrors that of the 2012 team that finished 93-69 — the bullpen has been unbelievable.

While the Orioles' starting rotation is 23rd in baseball with an ERA of 4.57, the bullpen ranks fifth in the MLB with a 3.25 mark. I used the word unbelievable because it's inconceivable for these relievers to be pitching this well.

López (1.74 ERA), Joey Krehbiel (2.35) and Cionel Pérez (0.96) were all claimed off waivers. Dillon Tate (2.68) was acquired from the Yankees in the Zack Britton trade.

Félix Bautista (1.82) is pitching in his first big-league season at the age of 27 — he was with the Single-A Aberdeen Ironbirds at this point last year.

The journeyman right-hander, with a fastball that regularly eclipses 100 miles-per hour, was instrumental in Baltimore's 1-0 win Saturday. He recorded four outs late in the game, including a strikeout of Trout, a three-time Most Valuable Player.

The lone Orioles reliever to be originally drafted by the team is Keegan Akin, who has a 2.31 ERA over 50 2/3 innings one year after sporting a 6.63 ERA over 97 frames of work.

Baltimore's whole pitching staff is like a before-and-after.

López was 3-14 last year, posting a horrific 6.07 ERA in 25 starts on a team that went 52-110 (Baltimore averaged 111 losses over the last four full seasons).

Somehow, some way, the Orioles' bullpen is collectively having the best seasons of their professional careers. It could be luck, it could be the work of pitching coach Chris Holt in his second season.

Either way, this Orioles bullpen is real, and it's spectacular.

Baltimore started 16-24 before baseball's No. 1 prospect Adley Rutschman was called up. Since then, it's 27-20. The line-up hasn't been great (the Orioles are 23rd in runs per game), but it's gotten the job done in big moments.

The Orioles don't have anybody hitting better than .281; however, Trey Mancini, Cedric Mullins, Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander and Austin Hays have all had spots of brilliance at the plate.

Take Friday night for example, when Baltimore was down to its final strike against the Angles in three consecutive at-bats.

Trailing 4-2 with two outs in the ninth and nobody on base, Rougned Odor, Rutschman and Mullins notched successive two-strike hits to tie the game, setting the scene for Mancini to win it in walk-off fashion.

Now for the best part: Baltimore has one of, if not the, best farm system in baseball.

The Orioles have five prospects in the Top 100. Even with Rutschman losing his prospect status, Baltimore still has two players in the Top 5, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez at No. 4 and shortstop Gunnar Henderson at No. 5.

Oh, and the Orioles have the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, which many suspect will be Druw Jones, the son of Atlanta Braves great Andruw Jones.

This all feels like it could be heading towards Brad Pitt playing Mike Elias in Moneyball 2.

The Orioles shouldn't be this good now, and that's made Elias' job that much harder at the trade deadline. Surely, Baltimore is still a seller, even if its ahead of schedule.

Despite his status as a fan favorite, Mancini appears likely to be dealt. I question whether his return will be worth the disruption to the clubhouse, but we must trust in Elias.

I'm just happy to be talking about Orioles baseball again. Fans who've been paying attention have been excited about the future for a while; it's a welcome change to be excited about the present, too.

Orioles Magic has returned to Camden Yards.

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.