Orioles waste Gausman quality start, scoring chances (updated)

HOUSTON - Kevin Gausman made it through the third inning tonight with only one run allowed despite a couple of hits and an error. A solo home run by Jake Marisnick was the only damage on the scoreboard.

The inning had the potential to hurt him in other ways.

Gausman threw 33 pitches to raise his total to 64. An Orioles starter was piling up the pitches again and likely forcing the bullpen to get busy.

Meanwhile, he kept waiting for the offense to do it.

Gausman gained better control of his count, worked 6 2/3 innings and notched his third quality start in his last four outings, but Astros right-hander Joe Musgrove shut out the Orioles through the seventh in a 2-0 victory at Minute Maid Park.

The Orioles (25-21) have lost five in a row and 11 of 14. They've scored three runs in their last three games, getting shut out twice. They've scored one run or fewer in three of their last five.

The eighth inning provided a chance to bust loose, with the Orioles loading the bases with no outs against reliever Chris Devenski on Hyun Soo Kim's leadoff double, Jonathan Schoop's infield hit and J.J. Hardy's bunt single while attempting a sacrifice. Seth Smith struck out on three pitches, Adam Jones flied to medium left and Manny Machado flied to the right field warning track.

When it's going badly ...

Fifteen of the Orioles' last 16 games have been decided by two runs. They've lost 10 of them.

Musgrove, who had a 5.63 ERA, allowed four hits to tie his season low. The Orioles wasted one-out doubles by Schoop in the third and Machado in the fourth. Hardy led off the sixth with an infield hit and was thrown out easily at second as Smith struck out. Machado led off the seventh with another double and was stranded.

Chris Davis struck out looking after Machado's first double and popped up to the catcher after the second.

Smith struck out in all four at-bats. The Orioles totaled eight after setting a major league record here last season with 52 in a three-game series.

Gausman got ahead of Marisnick 0-2 with a couple of 97 mph fastballs, tried a slider and watched the ball land on the train tracks above the left field seats. It traveled 428 feet, according to statcast.

George Springer saw five straight fastballs and poked a single into right field. Gausman leaned on the heater so hard, it could have burned the prints off his fingers. He abandoned it on one pitch to Marisnick and paid the price.

Josh Reddick reached when Schoop dropped Machado's throw on an attempted force. Gausman retired the next two batters on a pop up and grounder, but had to work harder to get back in the dugout.

Evan Gattis was stranded after a leadoff single in the fourth and Josh Reddick didn't budge after a two-out double in the fifth, with Gausman throwing 10 and 11 pitches, respectively. However, Carlos Beltrán homered with two outs in the sixth to increase the lead to 2-0.

Gausman had thrown 95 pitches through the sixth. He left after 107, and Mychal Givens struck out Jose Altuve to strand a runner at second base.

Givens was making his first appearance since Saturday.

Down on the farm, Single-A Frederick shortstop Ryan Mountcastle hit three home runs tonight to raise his season total to 11. He went 4-for-4 with four runs scored and raised his average to .342.

Update: The Orioles dropped into third place for the first time this season. The Red Sox passed them.

Manager Buck Showalter on Gausman after the third, and more: "He got some short innings, too. We played real good defense tonight. Kimmy did a real nice job in left field. I thought Seth made a couple plays, Manny made one to his left. Big double play there. Unconventional, but about the only way you can turn it. We only had a couple of opportunities and we didn't cash in on them."

More Showalter on Gausman: "He pitched well. He gave us a great chance to win, but their guys did a little bit better."

Showalter on whether the eighth inning is indicative of what happens when a team struggles: "You don't like it to. I'm not going to state the obvious. Everybody in our clubhouse knows that it's been a challenge for us here lately, but they pitched well. I think the guy threw 58 out of 102 pitches were off-speed pitches and we just didn't make a lot of adjustments. You've got to tip your hat to them."

Showalter on the strikeout/caught stealing with Smith and Hardy: "That's a 3-2 go. Seth doesn't strike out too much until tonight. I didn't think he'd strike out three times in a row."

Gausman on getting into seventh after tough third: "It all kind of stemmed from fastball command. I say it every time after every start, but when I feel like I can throw the ball where I want to, those are the games where I'm going to go deep in the game. You get quick outs, get pop flies and ground balls. That third inning, just try to minimize. Gave up the solo home run and get some guys on base. Kind of had some freak things that happened in that inning, but like I said, just try to minimize."

Gausman on heavy early reliance on fastball: "My fastball was staying true tonight. It wasn't coming back to the middle of the plate like it was earlier in the season. I felt really good my last couple starts with that pitch specifically, so I'm definitely on the right track and just kind of try to keep the ball rolling."

Gausman on expecting team to cash in on opportunities: "With this lineup, we're always one swing away. I know those guys up there are trying to get me runs, but their pitching staff did a pretty good job tonight of minimizing and even in that eighth inning, just some good pitches by them. Manny comes up 10 feet from a grand slam. Obviously, tough loss, but we've got two more against these guys. That's the beautiful thing about baseball. We play again tomorrow."

Gausman on the two home runs he allowed: "Beltran, trying to throw a fastball up and kind of left it middle of the plate and he's obviously been around for I don't know how long, but a long time, and he doesn't miss those pitches. Marisnick, trying to bury a slider, especially with two strikes, and just kind of left it center cut."

Gausman on whether he's close to putting it all together: "Yeah, I had a real good feel for my slider. Really, the worst one I threw tonight got hit for a home run. That's a good sign. I know my stuff's really good when I'm getting a lot of foul balls. That's one thing that throughout my whole career, when I'm on, guys are fouling it off. Unfortunately, it kind of gets me into deep counts. That's one thing for me, I know I'm on the right track, so definitely took the right step forward tonight and go get them tomorrow."

Schoop on tough loss: "Every loss is tough. We had a lot of chances today, but you know, we didn't come through. I know everybody is trying. Nobody is going out there and not trying to do it. Everybody is trying to do their job. ... You've got to grind it and play hard and keep battling until it comes back."

Schoop on team no longer winning close games: "I think it's just baseball. Sometimes baseball goes your way, sometimes it doesn't go your way. You've got to play hard every time, you've got to battle and you've got to compete. That's all you can do, leave it out there. Everybody wants to do good. Nobody wants to do bad. Everybody's trying to do their best, but things aren't going our way now. We've got to come out tomorrow and try to get past it."

Schoop on calmness of veteran clubhouse: "Nobody's panicking now. Even though we're not winning, we're playing good baseball. We play good baseball, playing good defense. Things aren't going our way right now. We got our chances and we didn't come through, but it will change."

Schoop on Musgrove: "He was commanding his cutter and same with his slider. He was good today. He commanding his fastball and everything was working his way."

Schoop on Gausman: "Yeah, Kevin, too. He was in the strike zone. He pitched better, but we didn't score runs for him. But it's the way it goes today."

Schoop on eighth inning: "Every time, we have a chance to score. We are a team that we can be down 10 runs and we know we can come back in one inning, but the bases loaded, we didn't do it today. It's a different day tomorrow."