The six-game losing streak is in the rear-view mirror, but not far enough that we can forget about it. Five games against the Red Sox and Rays are always tough, but things get a little easier for the Yankees tonight when they kick off a two-game set against the Orioles in Yankee Stadium South, a.k.a. Camden Yards.

What Have The Orioles Done Lately?

Believe it or not, the O’s come into this series having won five of their last seven games, sweeping the Mariners and taking two of three from the Rays over the last week. They blew a big early league against the Sox on Monday before getting rained out last night, so they’re rested. Baltimore is still 13-20 since their 6-1 start, and their -21 run differential is the worst in the division and the fourth worst in the AL

Orioles On Offense

When we last saw the Orioles, they were a bottom five offense in terms of OBP and wOBA. They’ve improved somewhat, but still only sport a .314 OBP and .312 wOBA as a team. No longer bottom five, but still bottom half in the game. Derrek Lee will be placed on the disabled list before tonight’s game with a strained oblique, but that might be a good thing for the O’s since he was hitting just .174/.273/.370 over the last two weeks and has a .295 wOBA on the season.

Baltimore’s offense is being carried by four players at the moment. Adam Jones (.422 wOBA in May) and Vlad Guerrero (.398) have been monsters this month while Mark Reynolds (.364) and Nick Markakis (.363) have contributed at an above-average rate as well. Brian Roberts (.167) and Matt Wieters (.295) have cooled off this month, and Luke Scott is kind of moseying along with a .329 wOBA this month. Good, not great. J.J. Hardy came off the disabled list about a week ago and already has two homers in seven games since. That means no more Robert Andino or Cesar Izturis, for shame.

Orioles’ hitters have the highest walk rate (10.3%) and fifth lowest strikeout rate (19.0%) in the AL, which makes it hard to believe they rank so low on the team OBP leaderboard. They won’t get themselves out on pitches out of the zone as much as you might expect, but there are some definite holes that allow pitchers to work around guys and pick their spots in the lineup.

Orioles On The Mound

Wednesday, LHP Zach Britton: Oh no, a rookie starter the Yankees haven’t seen before, and Britton’s no slouch either; Baseball America ranked him as the 28th best prospect in the game before the season. The 23-year-old southpaw has made eight starts since being called up, and he’s getting away with striking out just over five batters per nine (5.02 K/9, to be exact) thanks to a 2.77 BB/9 and a 54.4% ground ball rate. Britton is the rare true sinker-changeup pitcher, with the fastball coming in around 91-93 and the changeup in the mid-80’s. He’ll also break off a few sliders, but we’re talking one out of 20 pitches or so. He’s very good, trust me. The Yankees are going to have their hands full with this one.

Thursday, RHP Jeremy Guthrie: The Yankees got lucky and missed Baltimore’s two best starting pitchers the other two times these clubs have played, but they won’t be so fortunate this time. We’ve seen so much of Guthrie over the last few years that I don’t need to tell you too much about him, though I want to mention that he constantly outperforms his peripherals and is doing so again this year (3.98 ERA, 4.64 FIP). He’s like Matt Cain in that sense, it’s been so long that I don’t think we can call a mid-to-upper 4.00’s FIP his true talent level. The ERA is closer to what he really is. Anyway, wooo Jeremy Guthrie. Hopefully he doesn’t hit anyone tomorrow.

Bullpen: Kevin Gregg is perpetually shaky in the ninth and blew Monday’s game against the Red Sox, his second blown in his last three chances. Koji Uehara (3.87 FIP) and Jim Johnson (3.56) have been very good in setup roles while Mike Gonzalez has been questionable (5.29 FIP) from the left side. Jason Berken (5.08) crashed back to Earth after the great start, and then you have Jeremy Accardo (5.57) and lefty specialist Clay Rapada (6.93) doing forgettable work in low-leverage spots.

The Orioles bullpen is pretty well rested, they had last night (rain), Saturday (Brad Bergesen complete game), and Friday (Guthrie complete game) off. Hopefully we’ll see lots of them over the next two days because Mo knows the Yankees could use some games in which they score a ton of runs and force the starter out of the game early. Some blowout wins sure would be nice right about now.

Recommended Orioles Reading: Camden Crazies

For the first time in 2011, the Yankees will be playing a team for the second time when they visit Camden Yards this weekend. CC Sabathia gets the ball in the Friday night opener, then will be followed by Freddy Garcia in a rare Saturday night game and Ivan Nova in the third and final game on Sunday afternoon. We know there’s always a nice turnout by Yankees fans when they visit Baltimore, so it’s like home away from home.

What Have The Orioles Done Lately?

Oh boy, what a tailspin for the O’s. Since their 6-1 start they’ve lost nine of their last 11 games (including two to the Yankees last week) and have been outscored 61-37 in a perfect storm of poor pitching and poor hitting. The Yankees roll into town for the weekend series without having to worry about Jeremy Guthrie or Zach Britton; neither of Baltimore’s two best pitchers is scheduled to start any of the three games.

Orioles on Offense

When we last checked in on the Orioles, they were a bottom five team in all of baseball in terms of wOBA and OBP. They’ve managed to up their team wOBA from .281 to .298 since last facing the Yankees, which is no longer bottom five but is still bottom nine. The team OBP climbed a bit from .282 and now sits at .291, but that’s the second worst mark in the game, ahead of only the uber-slumping Twins.

Matt Wieters is coming into the series like a man possessed, picking up seven hits in his last five games, including two doubles and two homers. Brian Roberts is in the middle of a nine-game hitting streak, a stretch that started in the first game against the Yankees last week. He’s hitting .368/.415/.500 during that time. Robert Andino is filling in for the injured J.J. Hardy, and he has eight hits (all singles) in his last five games. Mark Reynolds (two for his last 26), Nick Markakis (three for his last 30), Luke Scott (four for his last 24), and Derrek Lee (six for his last 30) are all slumping. Adam Jones and Vlad Guerrero are neither slumping nor on fire, they’re just kinda going through the motions right now.

Orioles on the Mound

Friday: Brad Bergesen: A high school teammate of Phil Hughes, Bergesen has made two starts and one relief appearance this season, throwing two garbage time innings against the Yankees last week. He’s allowed three homers in just 10.2 IP this year, and he’s never been one to miss bats: just a 4.53 K/9 and 5.8% swing-and-miss rate in his career. Bergesen will make the Yankees put the ball in play with 88-91 mph two- and four-seamers, and every so often he’ll bust out a changeup or slider. The Bombers have put a hurtin’ on him in the past, scoring 11 runs in 17 innings against him. Pitch-to-contact pitchers usually don’t fare well against the Yankees lineup, so expect good things.

Saturday: Chris Tillman: The Yankees faced Tillman in the series last week, tagging him for six runs and nine hits in just an inning-and-a-third. He held the utterly punchless Twins to three runs in 6.2 IP on Monday, but he was still missing some velocity and the results had more to do with Minnesota’s faults than his strengths. The game plan hasn’t changed one bit, just work the count and let it fly whenever Tillman makes a mistake.

Sunday: Jake Arrieta: After beating the Yankees twice in 2010, Arrieta pitched well against them last week but it was clear the Yankees made adjustments the second and third time through the order. They tagged him for five hits and three runs in the fifth and sixth innings after the young right-hander held New York to just one baserunner (a walk) over the first four innings. The Yankees should be better prepared for his two-seamer and slider heavy approach, hopefully jumping on the board a little earlier than they did last week.

Bullpen: Buck Showalter’s bullpen comes into the series pretty well rested, with only closer Kevin Gregg making as many as two appearances over the last four days. The only new face added to the ‘pen since last week is lefty specialist Clay Rapada, who replaced injured long-man Chris Jakubauskas. The middle relief/setup crew is rock solid with Jason Berken, Jim Johnson, and Koji Uehara from the right side while Mike Gonzalez takes care of business from the left. If the Yankees do what they’re supposed to do against the starters, the relievers should be nothing more than footnotes in the series.

Recommended Orioles Reading: Camden Crazies

Take a look at the AL East standings, and you’ll see an unfamiliar name at the top. The Baltimore Orioles, at 6-3, lead the division (one game better than the Yankees) and have the sixth best record in all of baseball. Buck Showalter’s magic from late last season has apparently trickled over for the time being, though real improvement was definitely expected this year. I feel pretty confident saying the Orioles’ true talent level is not a .667 winning percentage, but they aren’t the total pushovers they’ve been for the last decade or so.

Unfortunately, it looks like the weather may be a factor in this series. There’s a 70% chance of rain from right now through basically tomorrow morning. There’s also a 50% chance of rain tomorrow night, though Thursday looks to be nice and sunny in the boogie down. Who really knows with the weather, the rain could wreck the series or not have any impact whatsoever. Finding a makeup date won’t be an issue, these two clubs play enough games throughout the season. Here’s a look at the coming series, in which first place be on the line*.

What Have They Done Lately?

Like the Yankees, the O’s are coming off a scheduled off-day on Monday as well as a weekend series that saw them lose two of three. Baltimore ran into the juggernaut known as the Texas Rangers, though Mother Nature spared them defeat on Friday with some thunderstorms. Rookie southpaw Zach Britton stuck it to Texas for 7.2 shutout innings Saturday afternoon, resulting in the Rangers’ first (and only) loss of the season. It all went south from there for the Orioles, who lost 13-1 on Saturday night before getting shutout three-zip on Sunday.

Despite their hot start, the Orioles have lost their last two games and three of their last five. That happens when you play the Rangers and run into Justin Verlander. They’ve also had three days off in the last week, so they’re well-rested, if nothing else.

Orioles On Offense

Much was made of the Orioles’ offseason improvements, which saw Vladimir Guerrero, Derrek Lee, Mark Reynolds, and J.J. Hardy join the likes of Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, and Luke Scott. Well, a little over a week into the season, all Baltimore has to show for those upgrades is 35 runs scored, the sixth fewest in baseball. Their team .282 OBP and .281 wOBA are both bottom five marks in baseball and would be the worst in the division if it wasn’t for the Rays.

On a micro level, the O’s have just two regulars with a better than league average wOBA (lg avg is .319 right now): Markakis at .320 and Reynolds at .344. The former is mired in a 2-for-18 slump while the latter has been all-or-nothing: Reynolds has three multiple-hit games, one one-hit game, and five 0-fers. Brian Roberts and Adam Jones are the only O’s with more than one homer (both have two), and they have identical .280 wOBA’s. Roberts has been on base three times in his last 21 plate appearances, though Jones is coming in hot: 5-for-14 with two homers in his last four games. Vlad has warmed up after a slow start, going 8-for-21 in his last five games.

Scott, last year’s offensive dynamo, has been battling a groin strain and has just a .252 wOBA in five games played. He’s been limited to pinch-hitting duties and might not be able to return to the outfield until Wednesday or Thursday. The rain could keep him out further as I imagine they wouldn’t want to risk re-aggravating the injury on wet grass. Felix Pie and Robert Andino have been filling in for the time being, and … well … they’re Felix Pie and Robert Andino. Hardy will not be available this series due to (yep) an oblique strain, meaning Cesar Izturis is playing short. That’s good for the Yankees. Lee and Matt Wieters are both off to slow starts (312 and .239 wOBA’s respectively).

Orioles On The Mound

Game One: Chris Tillman: Part of the infamous Erik Bedard trade, Tillman has struggled to establish himself in the big leagues in each of the last two years (5.90+ FIP in 110+ IP between 2009 and 2009). He fired six no-hit innings against the Rays in his first start then got taken to the cleaners by the Tigers (4 R in 4.2 IP) next time out. Tillman is usually a low-90’s fastball guy, though it’d been down in the upper-80’s early on this year. Lack of velocity is the new black, apparently. He also throws an over-the-top curveball and an okay change, but so far he hasn’t missed as many bats as his stuff says he should, and he’s always been a guy that hands out a healthy amount of walks. Add in fly-ball tendencies, and Tillman plays right into the Yankees strengths. You might remember that he gave up Derek Jeter’s 2,722nd career hit, the one that gave sole possession of the franchise’s all-time record.

Game Two: Chris Jakubauskas: A former independent leaguer, Jakubauskas went from Lincoln Salt Dogs in 2007 to the Mariners farm system in 2008 to the actual Mariners in 2009 to the Pirates in 2010 to the Orioles now. He’s the definition of a replacement level player, a guy with an 89-91 mph fastball and the occasional curveball, changeup, and cutter with med command. At 32-years-old, Jakubauskas is unlikely to get any better than what he is, and that’s a guy the Yankees should absolutely hammer. They crushed him in a relief appearance back in his Seattle days, the only time he’s faced New York. This is one of those “no excuse” games, Jakubauskas shouldn’t haven’t a prayer against a Yankees’ lineup even if half the guys are struggling like they are right now.

Game Three: Jake Arrieta: The O’s didn’t want to start Britton in Yankee Stadium so early in his career so they pushed him back a day and will have him pitch Friday instead of Thursday. Yesterday’s off-day allows Arrieta to make that Thursday start on normal rest. You might remember him from last season, when he made his big league debut against the Yanks and predictably earned his first career win against them with a quality start. He also beat them in early September with 6.1 innings of two run ball, but I suppose the good news is that against everyone else, he’s pitched to a 5.18 ERA with 48 walks and 51 strikeouts in 91.2 IP. The 25-year-old right-hander has some giddy-up on his fastball (92-94, will touch 96 on the rarest of occasions), though he usually lives off a low-90’s two-seamer and mid-80’s slider. Every once in a while he’s bust out a curveball and/or changeup. Arrieta’s minor league strikeout and walk numbers never stood out, but he’s a legitimate back-end starter right now.

Bullpen: Showalter’s bullpen has been pretty sketchy overall, backing up its 3.94 ERA with a 5.05 FIP. Kevin Gregg is a de facto closer and been okay in three appearances so far, though the setup crew has been remarkably strong. Jason Berken, Koji Uehara, and Jim Johnson have combined for 14 strikeouts and one walk in 11.2 combined innings. Mike Gonzalez hasn’t been good so far, but he’s still death on lefties. Jeremy Accardo will show his face from time to time, and Josh Rupe handles the mop-up work with Jakubauskas in the rotation. The key to the series for New York is simple: get to the Orioles’ starters early and keep that stellar middle relief corps from being a factor.

* No, I didn’t write that with a straight face.