O's take BP vs. Tribe

The Baltimore Orioles' bats came alive against the struggling Cleveland Indians Friday night. With Justin Masterson on the mound for the Tribe, Jeremy Guthrie pitched one of the best outings of his Orioles career, throwing eight innings and allowing just two hits and one run while striking out five. Guthrie did everything right -- he kept it simple. He kept the ball down, he used his fast ball effectively, he stayed in the 93-95 range, had great movement... he was simply awesome.

But more important, or just as important, the O's bats gave him some much-needed run support... run support he didn't get early in the season which resulted in him earning his first win of the season on May 8th. Baltimore's offense gave Guthrie 14 hits and eight runs which helped earn the right-hander his second win of the year.

The Orioles will finish the series against the Indians this weekend before a two-game series against another offensive-challenged team, the KC Royals, here at Camden Yards. With the O's on a high, it's important to take advantage of these two teams (like they did Seattle when they took 2-of-3) and carry the momentum into the road series against Texas and the Nationals on the road.

Orioles fans certainly have something to smile about if they watched the game from beginning to end tonight. It's about time, right?