Following the trade deadline, many people across baseball thought that the Baltimore Orioles didn’t bring in enough quality when upgrading their starting pitching.

Baltimore brought in Zach Eflin from the Rays and paid a pretty penny to lure Trevor Rogers from the Miami Marlins.

However, for some people that wasn’t good enough.

Zach Eflin wasn’t one of those people.

Throughout four starts since joining the Orioles on July 26th, Eflin has gone 4-0 with a 1.40 ERA in four starts.

“At the end of the day, I’m just trying to go out and be competitive,” Eflin said. “You’re kind of forced to be comfortable this late in the season— especially in the middle of a pennant chase. Baseball never stops, so you’ve got to come in ready to go.”

Last night, Eflin proved just why the Orioles hit a home run at the deadline after he fired six scoreless innings against the Red Sox to win his fourth game in as many outings with Baltimore.

“He just really knows what he’s doing,” Brandon Hyde said of Eflin after the game. “He’s unbelievably prepared with a great game plan going in. When he executes, it’s tough to hit.”

Eflin joins the top of an Orioles rotation which features AL CY Young favorite Corbin Burnes to create one of the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball.

Last season, the Orioles’ lack of pitching depth proved to be their kryptonite in Baltimore’s ALDS sweep at the hands of the World Champion Texas Rangers.

If Eflin can continue to throw the ball the way that he has, that won’t be an issue this time around.

The Orioles enter play on Friday tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East in what should be one of the best division races in baseball down the stretch.