Brandon Young couldn’t duplicate the drama.

Young was perfect for 7 2/3 innings in Houston, returned home tonight and allowed a hit and home run among his first four batters. The Astros didn’t let the rookie get on another roll.

Christian Walker’s two-run shot with two outs in the first inning was followed by Carlos Correa’s two-run single in the second. Houston scored three times in the third before Young retired a batter, and the Orioles stayed down in a 7-2 loss before an announced crowd of 18,061 at Camden Yards.

Young was charged with seven runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings and exited after covering first base to retire Jacob Melton on a ground ball to Coby Mayo leading off the sixth. Young came down hard on his left leg, began limping past the bag, and interim manager Tony Mansolino removed him and called for reliever Yaramil Hiraldo.

The club announced that Young had left hamstring discomfort. Depending on the severity of the injury, he could be the starter who steps aside for Kyle Bradish’s return next week.

"Bad enough to where we had to pull him off right there," Mansolino said. "So we’ll get more information. I’m sure they’ll get the thing examined and we’ll have a better idea of the severity of it tomorrow.”

Dylan Beavers provided a highlight with his first major league home run in his first at-bat here. He ran the count full in the second inning against Jason Alexander and got his barrel on a changeup.

Right fielder Jesús Sánchez didn’t budge.

The Astros didn’t let it matter.

Walker led off the third with a double and scored on Sánchez’s single, and Yainer Diaz followed with a 402-foot homer to left for a 7-1 lead. Now, it was Young’s turn to look away.

The Orioles (59-68) hadn't seven or more runs since Aug. 9 against the Athletics, a streak of nine games. 

On the bright side, Young made it into the sixth to spare the bullpen excessive usage. The injury kept him from going further than 84 pitches, but his ERA had swelled to 6.24.

“A little different command than he had last time," Mansolino said. "He commanded his fastball a lot better last time out. A couple of those splits in the first inning, I don’t know if those were the best pitches in those spots. You can second-guess that a little bit. But it’s all fastball command for me.

"You’ve got to command your fastball in this game, and if you don’t, especially against that team, seen him twice in the span of a week, it’s gonna be a challenge. But what I will say with him is, he gives up seven or whatever it is, and the fact we had him out there in the sixth inning is a testament to him hanging in there. That’s a big deal for  a young pitcher. So we’re very proud of him for that.”

Correa’s two-run single in the second was preceded by catcher Samuel Basallo’s throwing error on Mauricio Dubón’s attempted steal while Melton drew a walk. Jackson Holliday committed a throwing error on Sánchez’s infield single in the fifth, but Young retired the last four batters.

Sánchez went 5-for-5 to tie his career high in hits.  

The Orioles failed to score in the first inning after Holliday and Gunnar Henderson singled. Alexander retired the first two batters in the second, including Basallo on a fly ball in his first home at-bat.

Basallo and Beavers received standing ovations after they were introduced. Beavers brought the crowd to its feet again.

"I don't really pay too much attention to what's going on around me," Beavers said when asked about the first ovation. "I kind of just want to show up and play good baseball. But yeah, it was awesome being here and I heard the crowd and going up for my first at-bat. So it was awesome. I'm super happy to be here.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Beavers joined Jeff Fiorentino in 2005 at Camden Yards and Ken Gerhart in 1986 at Memorial Stadium as the only Orioles to homer in their first major league at-bat in Baltimore. He's reached base in his first five career games, the first Oriole since Colton Cowser in 2023. He has five hits and five walks to become the seventh Oriole to reach at least 10 times in the first five career games, joining Ryan Mountcastle, Howie Clark, Damon Buford, Glenn Gulliver and Willie Tasby. 

“It was awesome," Beavers said of the home run. "The first one? Yeah, that was a good at-bat. I got to see him in my debut, so I kind of knew what to expect and I got the 3-2, I knew something slow was probably coming. So, was going to let it travel a little bit and then I saw the changeup out of the hand and jumped on it.”

What went through his head as he rounded the bases?

“It was pretty awesome," he said. "I don't know. I kind of blacked out. I was just running, but when I got back in the dugout, it was one of the cooler things I've ever experienced. Best home run I've ever hit, for sure.

"They gave me a ball but I don’t know if it’s the ball. I don’t know so, yeah, we’ll see. It doesn’t have an authentication sticker on it so I’m not sure if it is or not. I’ll find out though.”

Colton Cowser, Basallo and Mayo singled with one out in the sixth to load the bases. Left-hander Steven Okert came in to face Beavers, who collected another RBI on a ground ball.

“He’s a good player, he’s interesting," Mansolino said. "He’s a guy that you haven’t heard a whole lot about here over the last few years. All these young kids that have come up, probably the least heralded up until maybe the last couple months. It’s a really short swing. He’s hanging in there on defense. He looks good out there. Naïve in a good way. Very confident. He’s interesting.”

* Former Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel is signing with the Astros and joining the team in Baltimore, according to multiple reports. Kimbrel made one appearance with the Braves and was pitching for Triple-A Round Rock in the Rangers’ organization, where he posted a 3.86 ERA in 24 games and averaged 5.1 and 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

* The Orioles played a video tribute to infielder Ramón Urías before the game. Urías, who was traded at the deadline, stepped out of the dugout and raised his cap to the crowd.

* Double-A Chesapeake’s Nestor German tossed five scoreless innings with three hits, three walks and six strikeouts. Carter Baumler followed with a scoreless sixth in his Double-A debut.

Enrique Bradfield Jr. went 3-for-4 with his 23^rd stolen base, and Creed Willems hit his 14^th home run.

High-A Aberdeen’s Yeiber Cartaya allowed only one hit in five scoreless innings, walking none and striking out six.

First-round draft pick Ike Irish had an RBI single for Class A Delmarva. He’s batting .333 with an .861 OPS.