masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgOrioles right-hander Kevin Gausman once again gave his team a strong start, but shortstop Manny Machado will grab the headlines tonight.
Machado hit a two-run homer in the first to give Gausman an early lead. Then he hammered a grand slam in the seventh to help the Orioles pull away for a 9-4 win over Tampa Bay in the series opener.
The Orioles are 11-27 and have a three-game winning streak, their first since they won seven in a row from Aug. 23-30 of last season.
Machado hit his 11th and 12th…

Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman once again gave his team a strong start, but shortstop Manny Machado will grab the headlines tonight.

Machado hit a two-run homer in the first to give Gausman an early lead. Then he hammered a grand slam in the seventh to help the Orioles pull away for a 9-4 win over Tampa Bay in the series opener.

The Orioles are 11-27 and have a three-game winning streak, their first since they won seven in a row from Aug. 23-30 of last season.

Machado hit his 11th and 12th homers and drove in six runs. He hit a first-pitch slider 401 feet from Jake Faria in the opening inning to provide a 2-0 lead. He hit a 1-0 slider 378 feet off Ryne Stanek for the slam in the seventh that made it an 8-1 lead. It was fourth multi-homer game of the year and 18th of his career.

The second homer was No. 150 of his career. At 25 years & 309 days, Machado becomes the youngest Oriole to get to that mark. He is also the fourth-fastest to reach 150 with the O’s at 802 games, behind Chris Davis (587), Rafael Palmeiro (623) & Frank Robinson (689).

kevin gausman black uni.pngGausman had a night where he pitched well but also gave up a career-high 11 hits over 7 1/3 innings. But he stranded six runners from the fourth through the seventh and allowed just two runs – one scoring after he left the game. He walked no one, fanned six, and improved to 3-2 with an ERA of 3.18.

Over his past four starts, Gausman has an ERA of 1.50. Over his past six games, he is 3-1 with a 2.14 ERA.

Richard Bleier allowed two runs in the eighth as Tampa Bay rallied within 8-4. His scoreless innings streak ended at 19 1/3.

Jonathan Schoop’s RBI double in the sixth provided a 3-1 lead. Mark Trumbo’s first homer of the year made it 4-1 to start the seventh and Machado’s slam made it 8-1. After Tampa Bay rallied in the eighth, Chance Sisco’s solo homer in the home half made it a 9-4 game.

The Orioles have scored 32 runs and hit 11 homers on this homestand where they are 3-1. They’ll host the Rays for a single-admission doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 3:05 p.m.