Orioles' keys to surviving daunting stretch with 16 consecutive games

The month of June presents a massive task for Baltimore Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino. Game one of Baltimore's series against Detroit marked the first game in a stretch of 16 consecutive days with a game played.

While that task is daunting in its own right, the goal for the Orioles can't be to just survive. They must find a way to rattle off wins in succession if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The O's took one game of their three-game series against the Detroit Tigers, a somewhat expected outcome with Tarik Skubal on the mound for game three, the headliner of the best team in the sport. Next, the Orioles welcome the Los Angeles Angels to Camden Yards before a road trip against the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees. They'll conclude June's gauntlet with a three-game home set against the Texas Rangers.

Baltimore has already started to do the right things to preserve their pitching staff. In Thursday's loss to Detroit, the O's used just three pitchers, as Dean Kremer tossed seven strong innings.

That's the first and most important key in this stretch: starting pitching. If the Orioles can get length out of their starters, they'll kill two birds with one stone. A long start implies a competitive one, free from the early-inning ailment that has afflicted O's pitching too often this season. It also preserves the bullpen, whose only off-days will come from games in which they're not required to pitch.

Orioles' depth improving with return of key position players

Luckily, Baltimore is getting healthy at just the right time on the position player side, as another key is the successful implementation of depth pieces. Another great example comes from Thursday's game, when Dylan Carlson started in left field, going 3-for-3 with a solo home run.

In order to preserve his position players, especially those recently coming back from injury, Mansolino will need to strategically implement players like Carlson, Ramon Urias, Maverick Handley, and Coby Mayo. Picking and choosing the correct spots for them will make the difference between just giving a starter a day off and providing a spark off the bench.

Mansolino has faced no shortage of challenges in his time as interim manager. Navigating June is one of his most daunting tasks yet, and could make or break the O's playoff hopes.

More Orioles news from Birds Watcher