Peter Schmuck notes the Orioles have started earning quality starts since Buck Showalter took over:

If you want to debate that, go to town, but I mention it because the Orioles now have 13 quality starts in the 17 games that have been managed by Buck Showalter. Brian Matusz chalked up another one last night when he went eight innings and gave up no runs on five hits against the first-place Texas Rangers, so there is no debating the relative quality of his performance.

The Orioles are 11-6 in those games, so there is no question about the cause-and-effect relationship, but I’m still trying to figure out just what Showalter did to get into the head of every member of the starting rotation. The guy must be some kind of Zen master.

The Game Score report gives us a clue. With 13 quality starts, the Orioles are tied for most in the majors since June 3rd. They are sixth in average game score. If you look at the game score components, they are going deep in games, averaging about 6 2/3 innings. They are also walking few batters. I suspect Buck insisted that they throw strikes. Before he took over, the Orioles starters were last in the AL in average game score, averaging four fewer outs per game and walking more batters in that shorter period of time.

There is one other thing that Buck did well in the past, and that’s position fielders. A lot of his preparation goes into figuring out where the opposition will hit the ball. We may be seeing that show up here as well.