The Orioles have won 10 of their last 12 games and have now won back-to-back series with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Read that again and, while you're at it, check the American League East standings. They are a half-game behind first-place Tampa Bay, a team that will come to Baltimore at the end of this week.

The Birds are rolling and can sweep the Red Sox with a win today in Boston. Mark Reynolds appears to have been shaken out of his hitting slumber, as he hit a home run Friday night and another Saturday. He's catching fire while others -- such as Adam Jones and Chris Davis -- continue to come up with the clutch hits, which show each player has a feel for the right moment.

"We're just feeding off everybody else," Jones said following Saturday's 8-2 rout of the Red Sox.

That right there is as key as the spectacular pitching the O's are getting right now -- the Orioles are becoming a team. They are raising their performances based off what their teammates are doing, rather than dragging each other down. It's about time Reynolds joined in and caught fire, too. If he does and starts driving in players in scoring position, the Orioles could be dangerous in May for the first time in a long time.

The Orioles are winning -- in many ways -- because the club's starting pitchers are going relatively deep and not taxing the bullpen.

Things aren't going to get easier for the Birds this week, as Texas and Tampa Bay come to town. Both have been playoff regulars the past few years, and each is winning just as much as the Orioles. If the Orioles win -- not just survive -- this week, they will be in position to make things interesting in the American League.

Posted May 6, 2012