Steady starter, sturdy hitting
Gausman goes seven shutout innings, enjoys run support for a change
The Orioles have been known for their resilience during the Buck Showalter era, and they are displaying that quality again this weekend.
They came home from a disappointing four-game series at Yankee Stadium to face a Cleveland Indians team that arrived in Baltimore with the best record in the American League. The Indians also owned the best road record in the majors, but none of that has mattered in the first two games of the three-game series.
The Orioles rediscovered their power stroke Friday and kept hammering away on a steamy Saturday night until they had given starting pitcher Kevin Gausman some well-deserved run support in a 5-2 victory before an announced 31,946 at Camden Yards.
Gausman didn’t need all of it this time.
He pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits and striking out seven on the way to only his second victory in nine decisions. Of course, the win-loss record is less reflective of his performance this season than his 3.77 ERA, but those are just numbers.
What’s important is that he has helped stabilize the starting rotation with a string of five starts in which he has allowed just nine earned runs in 321⁄3 innings (2.51 ERA).
It didn’t hurt that the Orioles replicated their first-inning performance of the night before, scoring three runs off Indians 10-game winner Josh Tomlin. In each game, major league homerun leader Mark Trumbo homered to make the score 3-0, but Saturday’s rally was sparked by the hustle of Chris Davis, who beat out a potential double-play ball to drive in a run and keep the inning alive for Trumbo’s 30th home run of the season.
“Chris runs balls out,” Showalter said. “I know he’s upset. He’s frustrated right now with the last ground ball he hit. There’s not a first baseman in the league that beats him to first base on that ball.”
The Orioles added more runs in the seventh on Pedro Alvarez’s 12th homer of the season and an infield single by Jonathan Schoop.
It almost seems like the Orioles rotation is trying to convince baseball operations chief Dan Duquette that it doesn’t need any outside help. In the past 11 games, Orioles starters have combined for a 2.94 ERA.
The Orioles took a shutout bid into the ninth, but Brad Brach gave up his first runs since June 16 and Zach Britton was brought in to get the last out for his 32nd save.
With Saturday’s win, the Orioles have tied the Indians for the best win-loss record in the American League. They also increased their division lead to 11⁄2 games over the Boston Red Sox and three games over the Toronto Blue Jays, who both lost Saturday. Trumbo’s 30th: Trumbo became the first player in the majors to reach 30 homers with his firstinning blast off Tomlin.
It was his second home run of the series. Friday night’s homer was a three-run shot. Saturday’s was a two-run homer that followed an RBI groundout by Davis. Fan injured: A fan was struck in the head when the left-handedhitting Davis lost his bat on a swing in the sixth inning.
The bat windmilled into the stands and hit a woman a few rows behind the far end of the Orioles dugout.
The fan was carried up to the concourse level and placed in a wheelchair for transport to the stadium first aid station. The defense never rests: Gausman had at least a runner on base in five of his seven innings, but the