The Baltimore Orioles are leading the AL East.
So that’s what that looks like in print.
At 4-0, the Orioles are 3 1/2 games ahead of the division favorite Boston Red Sox and the defending AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays.
They have a 38-23 record since Buck Showalter was named the manager at the end of July last year. That’s a .623 winning percentage — higher than any team had during the 2010 regular season.
The last time the Orioles opened with three road wins was 1970, and they went on to win 108 games and the World Series.
Yes, it’s only April. Yes, there are 158 games left. And this team should never be compared to a 1970 squad that had a pitching staff led by 20-game winners Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally.
But the young arms of the Orioles could be the most promising in the AL East.
With Jeremy Guthrie, 31, the only veteran on the staff, the crop of prospects will get plenty of opportunities this season. And they’re off to a nice start.
In Baltimore’s four wins, its starting pitchers have allowed two runs on 12 hits in 26 innings.
Guthrie pitched eight scoreless innings on Opening Day, followed by an impressive outing from 22-year-old Chris Tillman, who didn’t allow a hit before getting pulled after six innings Saturday.
Promising left-hander Brian Matusz, 24, was put on the disabled list, so the O’s were forced to call up top prospect Zach Britton for Sunday’s game. In his major league debut, Britton, 23, allowed one run and three hits and struck out six batters.
And Baltimore got another solid start in Monday’s home opener — 25-year-old Jake Arrieta allowed one run in six innings.
Tillman, Britton and Arrieta have a combined 44 career starts. An inexperienced pitching staff is no recipe for a division title, but the development of the Orioles’ young arms could lead to them doing something the franchise hasn’t done since 1998: finish with a winning record.
