Halfway home, formula emerges

81 games in, club knows pitching plus timely offense can make the wins add up

As the Orioles approached the mathematical midway point of the season Sunday afternoon, manager Buck Showalter has often said the key to turning this season around in the second half will be getting deeper and more consistent outings from his starting rotation.

And as they reached the 81-game mark after a 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in their final game at Camden Yards before the All-Star break, the Orioles offered a glimpse of how dominating they can be when backed by a strong starting pitching performance.

As Showalter has said many times, tempo is everything.

Right- hander Kevin Gausman, who spent most of the season struggling to find his form of last year’s strong second half, had his best start of the season, pitching seven shutout innings and allowing just four base runners (two singles, two walks) while striking out a seasonhigh nine batters.

Feeding off Gausman’s tempo, the Orioles offense was opportunistic against Tampa Bay starter Alex Cobb, taking a four-run lead by putting base runners on early, moving them over and driving them in with home runs.

And even though the Orioles (40-41) sit one game under .500 at the halfway point — they left Baltimore after Sunday’s game to play their final seven games before the All-Star break on the road in Milwaukee and Minnesota — it left players with a positive reminder of this team’s promise.

“I think today was a good indication of what it looks like when guys are playing to their potential and contributing to the ballclub,” designated hitter Mark Trumbo said. Starter allows two hits in seven innings Today, 2:10 p.m. TV: MASN Radio: 105.7 FM