Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles (49-40) are finally in the driver's seat, having reached first place in the AL East this past weekend.

After playing a doubleheader on Saturday and a 12-inning contest against the rival Boston Red Sox, the Orioles could look to the farm for some bullpen help to finish out the stretch before the All-Star break.

Despite the loss of All-Star catcher Matt Wieters and a starting rotation full of underachievers, Baltimore finds itself in the thick of the American League playoff picture, sitting within a game of first place in the AL East and 1.5 back of the two available wild-card berths as of June 31.

The Baltimore Orioles have been a pleasant surprise in the American League East thus far, but the club will have to replace one of its more dependable starting pitchers with Bud Norris hitting the disabled list. 

According to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, Norris tweaked his groin during a bullpen session Wednesday. 

While the follow-up to his breakout season has largely been disappointing, Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis gave O's fans plenty to cheer for Monday night, hitting the franchise's first walk-off, pinch-hit home run since 1988, per the team's official Twitter account.

It's about that time of year again.

In roughly one week, the Baltimore Orioles will have reached the mathematical halfway point in their schedule. Currently tied for second place in the AL East, the Orioles have shown that they're a strong, competitive team this season.

They've also had trouble stringing a long winning streak together and really making that push to the top of their division standings.

Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis entered Monday's action in need of a big hit in the worst way but in a lousy position to get one. It's not so easy to hit from the bench, you know.

Fortunately for Davis, baseball has that one rule that allows managers to use pinch hitters.

First in an 11-part series about the vagaries of awards voting.

Al Bumbry rightfully earned American League Rookie of the Year honors in 1973. However, as arguably a division champion’s best hitter, he received not a single vote for Most Valuable Player.

The Baltimore Orioles are not only one of the most dangerous hitting teams in baseball, but they're also the best defensive squad in the game. 

So, despite the fact that many of their best players are still quite young, the O's are clearly in win-now mode.

The Baltimore Orioles (23-22) have finally come to a skid in the road on their path to securing a division title and a postseason berth.

As was to be expected, the Orioles' weaknesses of an underperforming offense and an unreliable starting rotation are finally catching up to them, as they are 3-7 over their last 10 games played, which included a three-game sweep at the hands of the visiting Detroit Tigers early last week.