The Baltimore Orioles improved their record to 16-8 after winning a pair of series on the road thanks to some timely hitting and three saves from closer Craig Kimbrel.Kimbrel has been stellar for the Orioles with a 0.82 ERA in 11 games, but the rest of the bullpen has been shaky lately and have made some games unnecessarily close. They have struggled over the past week with a 6.75 ERA and giving up four home runs. The back end of the bullpen has been good, but it has struggled with middle and long relief. Luckily, the offense has been scoring enough to maintain and hold on to win. The offense scored over five runs per game last week, and they lead the league in home runs with 37. Adley Rutschman has been on a tear with 13 hits in the past six games, batting .448 over that span. He was joined by fellow star Gunnar Henderson, who is batting .375 with two home runs and seven runs scored this week. They have helped carry the offense while the pitching has had its recent issues, but will need the bullpen to return to form to keep up the winning pace. Pitching help neededThe Orioles have been down two starting pitchers in John Means and Kyle Bradish, but both have started their rehab process and should be returning soon. That will help the rotation as well as the bullpen, that has been without a true long relief option all season. They have used Mike Baumman and Keegan Akin in that role, and both have struggled recently with double-digit ERAs last week. One or both could be sent down once Bradish and Means are ready to return to the team. While starter Tyler Wells could also see a bullpen role when he returns from the injury list. The bullpen has been an issue lately, but the starting pitching could use some help, too. They are currently middle of the pack in starters ERA at 3.96 and only one starter, Corbin Burnes, has an ERA under 3.00. If Means and Bradish can contribute, the pitching staff should be fine. But if they are not ready then the team may have to look outside the organization for some help.Some hot bats cool offThe lineup may have gotten a boost from Henderson and Rutschman, but other bats that were hot to start the season have cooled off. Rookie sensation Colton Cowser, who won the AL Player of the Week award two weeks ago, has hit a rough patch this past week. He is only batting .133 in the past six games with only two hits in that span. He has been drawing walks, so he is seeing the ball, just been lacking contact lately.Another bat that has cooled off since the start of the season is designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn. He has only one hit in his past six games and has seen his batting average fall over 50 points since last week. He was one of the best Oriole hitters. Hopefully, for O'Hearn, this should be just a temporary lapse in performance, and he can get back to the hitter that was leading the team in exit velocity. The team did call up their hard-hitting prospect Heston Kjerstad, who could start seeing some at-bats at DH if O'Hearn continues to struggle. Up nextThe Orioles will be home for two series at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, starting against the Oakland Athletics and finishing versus the division rival and current first-place AL East leader, New York Yankees. The Athletics will be in Baltimore for a three-game series over the weekend, while the Yankees will be in town for four games next week.