Zach Britton is shutting out the Tigers tonight on five hits over five innings. He’s slithered out of a few jams. He’s bearing down on a quality start.

The Orioles can’t get him a lead, which is the only downside to Britton’s night.

The Orioles don’t have a game when Britton’s turn comes up again on Thursday. They can go back to a four-man rotation or just push back everyone and stick with the current alignment.

The other option is sending down Britton and reinserting Steve Johnson into the rotation.

Way to complicate things, Zach.

The chipped nail on his pitching hand must not be an issue. Or he’s doing one heck of a job ignoring it.

Meanwhile, Mark Reynolds is 0-for-2 with a strikeout, but he hasn’t been ejected.

UPDATE: Britton has a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning, courtesy of Chris Davis’ 19th home run of the season. His three-run shot off Rick Porcello broke the scoreless tie.

Davis had gone 56 at-bats without a home run before taking a Porcello pitch to the opposite field.

UPDATE II: Britton got through the seventh inning on only eight pitches, and he’s done for the night after blanking the Tigers on six hits.

So much for the Orioles giving away this game tonight because Britton made the start. I heard that one on Twitter and right here at School of Roch. That’s why they play the games.

UPDATE III: Pedro Strop hadn’t allowed a run in 17 straight appearances before Jhonny Peralta’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth that reduced the Orioles’ lead to 3-2.

Peralta took a wide turn around first and was tagged out in a rundown, doing Strop a huge favor in the process.

Jim Johnson will attempt to close out the game.

UPDATE IV: Johnson closed it out, picking up his 36th save.

The Orioles have won 12 straight one-run games to tie a franchise record. They’re now 50-0 when leading after seven innings.

Here’s Reynolds’ postgame rant from last night, courtesy of “O’s Xtra” on MASN2. It’s an instant classic: