Sports

Led by bullpen, young Orioles Buck logic

WIZARD OF O’S: Under the guidance of former Yankees skipper Buck Showalter (above), underrated closer Jim Johnson, hot prospect Manny Machado and Taiwanese import Wei-Yin Chen are sparking the surprising Orioles. (
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BALTIMORE — Remember when the Mets were good?

Remember when they started the 2012 season with a flurry of clutch hits and close wins, inspiring their fan base to ignore an underwhelming lineup and a flammable bullpen and root for a 50th-anniversary miracle?

Ever imagine what it would be like if the Mets had kept that going for the entirety of the campaign?

If you come down here to Camden Yards — or shoot over to Yankee Stadium this weekend — you don’t have to imagine. You can see it in live color, in the form of the 1969 Mets’ World Series victims, the Orioles.

“Exactly,” said Omar Quintanilla (remember him?), whom the Orioles purchased from the Mets last month. “Especially in spring training, with all of the talk about the Mets weren’t going to be so great. They were doing great when I was there, had a winning record. We were fighting for that 1-2 spot.

“It just makes it a lot of fun when you’re playing for something.”

The Orioles are playing for their first postseason appearance — and first winning record — since 1997. In the ultra-competitive American League East, they reside in second place, trailing the Yankees by

3 1/2 games following their 6-0, two-hit victory over the White Sox last night for their fourth straight win. The Yankees and Orioles have a three-game series starting Friday night at Yankee Stadium and then play four games here Sept. 6-9.

The current Orioles and first-half Mets aren’t identical twins. Baltimore has a superior bullpen and a starting rotation that is, to be kind, lacking. Yet the comparison makes sense because these Orioles defy statistical logic, just as the Mets were doing before the logic caught up to them.

“There are some times I can’t figure it, either,” O’s manager Buck Showalter said yesterday. “The baseball gods can be cruel and they can be kind.”

“I hear some silly stats,” Baltimore closer Jim Johnson said. “Obviously you guys have to talk about something.”

The most glaring stat is this: Baltimore has scored 542 runs and allowed 581 and nevertheless has complied a 71-57 record. The Royals have scored 535 runs and allowed 588, and they are 57-71.

“There are no Cinderellas in baseball,” Showalter said.

Stat geeks might disagree. With their 4-3 victory over the White Sox Monday night, the Orioles recorded their 13th straight victory in one-run games and raised their overall record in the tightest contests to a mind-blowing 24-6. That just isn’t supposed to happen.

This magical Orioles season has happened because of a superb bullpen, which had put up a 3.03 ERA and struck out 333 (against 131 walks) in 424 2/3 innings. Former Yankee and Met Luis Ayala and former Met Darren O’Day join Pedro Strop as the key pieces that set up Johnson.

“I’ve been in other bullpens where you know there are certain guys that don’t want the ball,” said Johnson, a career-long Oriole. “I think everybody in our bullpen wants a chance to get out there and see what we can do. I think it has a little bit of an overflow effect to the position players.”

Showalter, the Yankees’ manager from 1992 through 1995, must get his props, as would any skipper overseeing this sort of numerical aberration.

“He deserves a ton of credit,” Orioles catcher Matt Wieters said. “Ever since Buck got here [in July 2010], he’s sort of changed the culture, changed the philosophy that had been here for the past few years, just bringing that winning attitude. More than anything, the way he prepares for the game, the way he prepares us for the game, has really helped improve this team.”

The ever-resourceful Showalter uses every tool available to compete, including statistical analysis. Nevertheless, he said he doesn’t look to the run differential to try to anticipate what adversity awaits his club.

“One thing players don’t like is being Captain Obvious. And I ain’t going to be,” Showalter said. “They get it. It’s a slap in their face to remind them of something I know they got.

“I have a lot of respect for what they do, how hard it is to do. They hold themselves to high standards. They’re very quick to say to themselves and each other, ‘Hey, that ain’t good enough.’ They move on.”

You’re apt to believe Showalter’s description of his clubhouse as ego-free, due in large part to the roster’s overall inexperience. Center fielder Adam Jones, who signed a six-year, $85.5-million extension earlier this season, appears an easygoing guy and has been even more relaxed since committing long-term, according to Showalter; Jones hit his 100th career homer last night. Outfielder Nick Markakis, who delivered a three-run double, and Wieters have developed into above-average players. Rookie third baseman Manny Machado, a protégé of Alex Rodriguez and a high-ceiling prospect, has performed well on both sides, solidifying what was a poor infield defensively, and kept quiet.

Another key for any miracle team: surprise role players. Last night, 36-year-old Lew Ford — who began this season with the independent Long Island Ducks and last played in the majors in 2007 with Minnesota — went deep for the second time in two nights.

The starting rotation could be this team’s downfall, though Chris Tillman, a significant disappointment prior to this year who began 2012 at Triple-A Norfolk, threw seven one-hit, four-walk innings to pick up the win and lower his ERA to 3.26 in 10 starts. Rookie left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, 27, from Taiwan, has been the one season-long, steady presence, and 28-year-old rookie Miguel Gonzalez, from Mexico, has stepped in and dazzled lately. Lefty Joe Saunders, acquired from Arizona in a trade, will make his Orioles debut tonight, and dispatched Milwaukee veteran Randy Wolf has signed and also will receive an opportunity.

The Orioles believe they can hang on because of their bullpen and their clubhouse.

“Stay tuned. Hold on,” Showalter said, smiling. “That’s why they put that bar on the roller-coaster ride, so you don’t fall out the side. I go on a roller coaster every night. And they don’t put a bar down.”

kdavidoff@nypost.com