The Birds are winging their way to Seattle, and upon arrival, they seem sluggish, possibly hung over from the time lag...Bob Milacki surrenders a home run early, but strands baserunners in scoring position the first four innings. Meanwhile, the Birds are having scoring troubles of their own, scoring two runs while leaving five runners in scoring position. As the game progresses, though, it's the Birds who take advantage of the slipshod Seattle pitching. In the seventh, Finley singles and steals, Bradley walks, and Cal hits a three-run shot. Tettleton also homers in the frame. When the smoke clears, the O's have tallied seven runs on their way to a 9-3 victory.

The next night, Ballard is getting smacked around, surrendering five runs in the first. In the second, the Birds load the bases, but Billy Rip hits into an inning-ending double play. Still, the O's seem to be game to take the game to the M's. They manage a single run in the third, three in the fourth, and four more in the fifth of hits by Craig Worthington, Billy, and Devo. Mickey Weston, the new found miracle worker, relieves Ballard and tosses four innings of two-hit ball, and the Orioles prevail, 8-6.

Game Three brings Jay Tibbs, another miracle pitcher, into the mix. The Orioles bat around in the second, and then again in the fifth. Tibbs shuts the M's down through seven, and then a tired Mark Thurmond is called on to close things out, but he can't. Gregg Olson has to come in, but he does close the door on an 8-6 win. Tibbs is now 4-0 with a 1.79 ERA. Despite the weary bullpen, the O's have won six in a row, going 25-9 since May 16, for an overall record of 40-28. The O's have now been in first for 26 straight days.

Now it's on to California, where the trip starts out the same way. Brian Holton is racked for five runs, extinguishing a 5-0 Birds lead, but Jim Traber homers in the eighth for a 6-5 O's win. Mickey Weston, pitching for the third time in five days, pulls a shoulder muscle. J. J. is coming back once more.

The Angels, in their own pennant race with the A's, take no prisoners the rest of the series, however. Dave Schmidt is asked to go all the way in a bullpen-saving 5-1 loss, and Jeff Ballard gets shelled yet again, relieved by J.J., who gives up three additional homers in five innings. Bautista's failure causes the braintrust to look elsewhere for pitchers. Richard Dotson is available, having been released by the Yankees, but Robinson and Hemond decide against it.

Next in will be the dreaded Blue Jays. Will this be the end of Orioles magic?