in , cuellar's regular-season win-loss record was 20–9 with a 3.08 era and 124 strikeouts as the orioles won the american league east division for the third year in a row. in the american league championship series against the oakland athletics, cuellar won game two by the score of 5–1. the orioles won the american league championship for the third year in a row and earned a berth in the world series against the pittsburgh pirates.