Peter Schmuck reviews the Orioles unlikely season, and notes this about the team rising to the occasion:

Ten days into the season, they were 4-5, but had beaten both Red Sox ace Jon Lester and Verlander and became the only opposing team to win a game started by Japanese star Masahiro Tanaka during the first seven weeks of the season.

It would be a strange pattern that would continue throughout the season.

The Orioles played some of their best baseball against the league’s best pitchers, yet often struggled against unknown rookies or high-ERA journeymen. Their ability to rise to an occasion, however, more than counterbalanced their one-dimensional offensive attack and —until the final months of the season — an inconsistent starting rotation.

The Orioles played 17 games against starters who finished the season with an ERA under 3.00. The starters went 4-6 in those games with a 2.85 ERA. Sticking these pitchers with a losing record was rare. This group was 7-9 against the Cardinals, 6-14 against the Dodgers, 11-13 against the Nationals, 6-7 against the Angels, 7-8 against Detroit, and 6-7 against the Blue Jays. So all six division winners were able to handle good starting pitching.

That group really killed the Yankees. In 15 games they went 7-3 with a 1.60 ERA, the lowest against any team.

The Orioles rose to the occasion, but that doesn’t make them different from the other division winners. They will be seeing plenty of good pitching as they make their way through the playoffs.