The Orioles’ hot start to the season caught folks by surprise. The offense was the story, and deservedly so, with former Rule 5 pick Anthony Santander a switch-hitting RBI machine, Hanser Alberto at the top of the AL in extra-base hits, and José Iglesias, Pedro Severino, and Rio Ruiz all turning in starts completely unpredicted by their past numbers.
But the team that motored to an 11-7 record by August 13th did it with pitching, too.
On that date, the staff ERA was 4.44—definitely not wow numbers compared to Cleveland’s ridiculous 2.