Joe Saunders delivers in September for OriolesJoe Saunders tripped out of the gate upon his arrival in Baltimore. The lefty earned a loss after allowing six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings against the White Sox in his Orioles debut on August 29.

Despite the small sample size, some experts had already written him off.

In four starts in September, Saunders has recorded a 2.10 ERA and silenced the doubters.

After the Orioles bullpen worked 12 2/3 innings on Tuesday night, Saunders followed with eight innings of one-run ball matching Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. The Orioles still had to use five pitchers after him, but hey, it’s not his fault they waited until the eleventh to score more than one run.

Against Toronto, New York, Oakland and now Seattle, Saunders has gone 2-1 and allowed just six earned runs. He’s been exactly what Dan Duquette and the Orioles hoped they were getting.