Gausman vs. McCullers tonight in Houston

There must be something in the Houston water.

Nineteen strikeouts in one game. Four errors in four innings in the next.

My guess is tonight's series finale will include cotton uniforms that shrink.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter shook up the lineup last night, the force causing it to foam at the top. But there isn't much that can be done about Manny Machado and Tyler Wilson each committing two errors.

Fans are pushing for Showalter to put Machado back at third base and play Paul Janish at shortstop. Honestly, that was the alignment that I expected after the Orioles purchased Janish's contract from Triple-A Norfolk. But Machado had one error in 22 games at short before last night. He hasn't been overmatched at the position.

Fluky things can happen in the field, too.

Anyone connecting Machado's slump at the plate to his move to shortstop will need to demonstrate an actual correlation. He's too preoccupied worrying about turning the double play? Have there been studies?

Kevin Gausman will try to do his part tonight to prevent a three-game sweep before the Orioles head to Cleveland. He's 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in six starts.

Gausman has recorded two wins as a starter since Aug. 1, 2015 and one since Sept. 14, 2015, but he's registered four quality starts in his last five outings. He held the Angels to one run over 6 2/3 innings on Saturday and settled for a no-decision.

Right-handers are batting .302 against Gausman and left-handers are hitting .132.

Gausman has never faced the Astros. Colby Rasmus is 1-for-1 with a walk and Luis Valbuena is 1-for-2 with a home run. That's it.

Valbuena has homered in both games of this series.

Astros right-hander Lance McCullers is 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA in two starts this season. He's allowed seven runs and 12 hits in 10 2/3 innings, with six walks and 11 strikeouts.

The Orioles haven't forgotten about McCullers. He left quite an impression last year at Minute Maid Park, when he went the distance while holding them to one run and four hits, walking none and striking out 11.

McCullers has faced five current Orioles. Mark Trumbo and Adam Jones are 2-for-4. Chris Davis and Machado are 0-for-4. Ryan Flaherty is 0-for-3.

Hyun Soo Kim had three hits and a walk last night. May as well run him out there again tonight.

He's making contact. Start him or at least throw him a parade.