Friday Bird Droppings: Orioles pitching dominates a superb road trip

The Orioles are 1.5 games behind the Blue Jays for the third and final wild card spot. They have 10 more games against Toronto this month. Yesterday they beat Guardians 3-0 to clinch a series win. The Birds went on a six-game road trip against two first-place teams in Houston and Cleveland.

The Orioles are 1.5 games behind the Blue Jays for the third and final wild card spot. They have 10 games against Toronto this month. Yesterday they beat the Guardians for second straight game, 3-0. The Birds won both series on their recent road trip. Their next game is against the Athletics. They also play a four-game, three-day showdown against Blue Jay starting on Labor Day. It's September and the Orioles and Blue Jeans are in the playoffs race.

FanGraphs' playoff odds for the Orioles are consistently lower than other outlets. Brandon Hyde discusses Mateo, Henderson, Aguilar, Mountcastle, Hall, home games and more. Cade Povich is trying to model his curveball after Clayton Kershaw's.

Jason Hammel turns 4 today. It's also Dave Criscione's birthday. Seven players in Orioles history were born on this day. The Orioles are on a losing streak. They won their last four games on September 2 after winning the previous six. Their last victory came in 2016, an 8-0 shutout of the Yankees at Camden Yards. Mark Reynolds, Jonathan Schoop, Manny Machado, Adam Jones, and Pedro Alvarez all homered.