Castillo extends power streak
Catcher’s third home run in past two games leads O’s to come-from-behind triumph
For the second straight night,
made winners out of the Orioles. The irrepressible backstop homered again to give the hosts a 7-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 45,416 at Camden Yards. This time, it was a three-run home run in the seventh inning that erased the possibility of another bullpen-generated loss.
Castillo’s homer was his fourth on the season, and his third in the past two games. On Friday night, he hit one in the sixth inning to tie the game at 3, and another in the 10th inning to end it. This one scored first baseman
who singled against the shift to snap an 0-for-10 skid, and designated hitter
who turned an 0-2 count into a full one before stinging a single up the middle.
It also erased a 5-4 deficit that came about after starter left with a 4-2 lead at the end of six innings. Left-hander had a runner reach on an error by shortstop and another on a walk, and right-hander
(5-0), who relieved him, allowed a three-run home run to Toronto slugger
worked a clean eighth inning for the Orioles (25-16), and deputy closer earned his ninth save out of a dozen chances. Gausman good enough: Badly needing a good outing to turn his season around, Gausman got just that to stem some concern about his early-season struggles. He allowed 10 hits, but only the last two — a sixth-inning home run by first baseman
and a double to the following batter, second baseman — went for extra bases. Combine that with just the one walk issued, and Gausman gave up two runs with five strikeouts, lowering his ERA from 7.19 to 6.65. Trumbo’s old tricks: When the calendar turned to May, Trumbo turned back the clock to his early-season success from a season ago. He has been spraying hits all over the ballpark, including a two-out, run-scoring single in the first inning that tied the game at 1, and a two-run home run that put them ahead 4-1 in the fifth inning.
The reigning home run king now has four home runs and 11 RBIs this month, and is batting .342 in May. On the season, he has raised his average from .202 on May 1 to .265 at game’s end. Machado show: When has a day like he did Saturday and impacts the game as often and as spectacularly as he does, it’s worth the price of admission on its own.
After a first-inning single through the left side provided an appetizer of what was ahead, Machado unloaded on a middlemiddle cutter from Blue Jays starter
for his 10th home run of the year, a long drive to left field. In the following half-inning, with a man on first and one out, he skidded on his knees to snare a hard grounder down the third base line, then spun to start a double play at second base. Triple-double: In his first four innings, Gausman benefited from three double plays by the Orioles infield, with Machado’s the most spectacular but not the most significant. The first one, after Toronto’s top three batters reached in the first inning, allowed a run to score but meant Gausman's strikeout of Smoak one batter later ended the inning. In the second, a double play ended the inning.