Orioles-Pirates series preview: A better-than-expected opponent awaits

The Orioles took two out of three games from the Pirates a year ago.What do you really know about how good an MLB team is going to be, or how well its players are going to play, based on the first week of games of the season? The next Orioles opponent, the Pirates, is one of the early surprise teams in the league, picking up six wins in its first seven games to make a nice start towards beating their projections of a win total in the low-to-mid-70s.

Through seven games a year ago, Jorge Mateo and Adam Frazier looked like world beaters on the way to All-Star appearances. On the other end, Gunnar Henderson was batting under .200 and Anthony Santander was hitting exactly .200. The Orioles…