Elias throws support behind Orioles players & coaches

The Orioles begin their final homestand of the regular season on Tuesday as the San Francisco Giants come to town. The O's continue to plug away at locking down a playoff spot with 12 games to go in the regular season.

There are six more home games to go - three against San Fran then three against the Detroit Tigers.

These are going to be critical games. The O’s have fallen into a three-game hole for the A.L. East lead. The Yankees occupy the top spot in the division and in the American League. As for the wild card race, the Orioles still hold down the No. 1 wild card, they are two and a half games up on the Royals and five games ahead of the Twins. The Birds are also six and a half games clear of Detroit, who is the first team out.

There is no time like the present to start getting things back on track. The O’s have lost three of their last four, six of their last eight and seven of their last ten games. During that stretch they have scored an average of just over two runs a game.

The second half of the season has been rough. General manager Mike Elias voiced his support for his guys before Tuesday night's game.

"We’ve been going through a patch here for a few months and it’s been trying... We’re going to figure this out and we’re going to get out of it and I think it’s going to start tonight and I think we’re going to get right here before the season is over," said Elias. "I think we’re going to make the playoffs and I think we’re going to do really well in the playoffs... The players who have been putting a lot of pressure on themselves to pick up the rest of the lineup, they are going to figure out the right approach and then we are going to get some guys back and I think we are going to feel like ourselves again here before too late."

As far as getting some of those injured guys getting back, Elias said he expects third basemen Jordan Westburg and Ramon Urias to return to action before the end of the regular season. There is hope Ryan Mountcastle could be back before the regular season is complete as well.

Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook