Brach on V. Martinez homer (and other clubhouse quotes)

DETROIT - For the Orioles, it was a gut-punch loss. After they had rallied from 3-0 down to tie the Tigers 3-3, Detroit's Victor Martinez hit a tiebreaking homer off Brad Brach in the last of the eighth.

Kevin Gausman gave them a strong start and battled out of some jams. Adam Jones and Jonathan Schoop had huge hits. They cut down a run at the plate. But the Orioles lost 4-3 to fall into a tie for the second American League wild card with Detroit. A win would have moved them into a tie for the first wild card with Toronto. They are now three games off the pace in the AL East after Boston's win over Toronto.

After the Orioles had tied it 3-3 on Jones' single in the top of the eighth, Martinez hit his 24th homer in the bottom of the inning. Brach, an All-Star in July, has now allowed three homers his last nine games. He has an ERA of 4.61 since Aug. 1.

Martinez hit his 2-2 fastball for a homer that provided the winning run in the opening game of this big three-game series.

"Just trying to go in and left it middle," Brach said. "Can't make mistakes like that. Been saying for a while now (that) it's about execution and I'm just not executing my pitches when I need to, especially in big spots against some of better hitters. Just not a very good pitch right there.

"Yeah, it's beyond frustrating. Yeah, it's just difficult. I'm my harshest critic. To lose games like these, especially against these guys with the wild card race, is difficult. ... I just think about it way too much and put too much pressure on myself at times."

Does Brach second-guess the pitch selection and/or location?

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it since I threw that pitch," he said. "Wish I didn't throw it there. Just not one of my strengths, throwing that area where I was trying to go. Just got to forget about it and be ready to go tomorrow. Came back and got the next guys out. Those were important, too. Can't take the home run back, but you have to get them after that."

Manager Buck Showalter was asked why Brach had been less effective in the second half of the season.

"I tend more to give Victor Martinez credit," Showalter said. "He's been doing that to a lot of guys. Brad's a good pitcher. Mychal (Givens) gave us some good innings, and we got to get Zach (Britton) up twice. That was good for him. Brad's been an All-Star pitcher, and will continue to give us a chance to win. Brad feels good, but tonight Victor got him."

The Orioles got a quality six innings out of Gausman tonight. But when J.D. Martinez scored two runs with a single in the fifth, Detroit went ahead 3-0. Over six innings, Gausman allowed seven hits and three runs, and the O's rotation ERA is 3.36 the past 11 games. Gausman pitched out of several jams as Detroit stranded six runners between the second and fifth innings. He stayed in to retire the side in the sixth and was at 114 pitches at that point.

"He's kind of earned the right," Showalter said. "I think one of his best innings is his last inning. He's shown us he can take it into that pitch count and be effective. But Kevin has been solid for us when we need him most. He's in that process that we talk about all the time. Young pitchers, you can't cheat it. He's gone through a lot of things to get to this point."

"Any time you get in situations like I was with guys on base, with no outs or one out, that's kind of where I go to my bullpen mentality," Gausman said. "There's certain situations where, if I get two strikes on this guy, I'm going to put him away. I'm going to strike him out. Then the next guy, you get a groundball double play. It's all part of the process. I think the more you're in those situations, the more you're going to learn."

Down 3-0 in the sixth and with just two hits off Tigers starter Michael Fulmer, Schoop's 22nd homer was a two-run shot that made it a 3-2 game. It became 3-3 on Jones' single two innings later before the homer that must have felt like a dagger for Orioles fans.

Now an Orioles team that has been written off a few times this year may well be by some again. And again they'll have to try and bounce back.

"Yeah, you know we'll keep battling," Schoop said. "They've got a good team over there and Fulmer threw well today. We both battled and they won. Come back tomorrow and try to get the series."

What gives Schoop the confidence that the Orioles can come back again?

"The team. The team we have in here," he said. "The veterans. You don't want to lose a game, but they say so what, flush it out and let's be better tomorrow and try to win."

The Orioles fall to 76-64 for the season, 31-39 on the road, 2-2 on this trip and to 15-15 in one-run games. Detroit is also 76-64, has won 12 of 17, improved to 40-28 at home and 26-15 in one-run games.

In the second game of the series on Saturday night, Ubaldo Jimenez (6-11, 6.19 ERA) faces right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (9-5, 4.44 ERA). Jimenez has an ERA of 2.70 over his past four starts.