Kevin Gausman on his outing, Mark Trumbo on the offense

The Orioles hitting four home runs and scoring eight times - that was new and different today. But right-hander Kevin Gausman throwing well was really not. He pitched the Orioles past the Los Angeles Angels 8-2, delivering his fifth straight solid start and his 10th quality start in 17 games.

On a day when he allowed six hits and two runs over eight innings on 104 pitches, Gausman saved some of his best velocity for his last inning. Entering the eighth with a 2-1 lead, he got his first strikeout of the day to start the inning, allowed a two-out solo homer to Kole Calhoun and then struck out Mike Trout. That turned out to be his last batter and the last two pitches to Trout were at 97.2 and 97.6 mph. Gausman's fastest pitch of the game was his last one.

"Well, you know, he was fouling off everything I was throwing him," Gausman said of that battle. "You know you get that competitive nature and obviously that's Mike Trout. Happen to make a good pitch and struck him out. He's a tough guy to pitch to, so anytime you can pitch against him, like Manny (Machado), he's going to get the pitcher's best stuff. It is just about that competitive nature. Knowing that my day is probably almost done too definitely also had something to do with it."

Gausman improved to 4-6 with a 4.05 ERA. His ERA is 2.78 and he's allowed two runs or less four times in his past five starts. Today, he ended an eight-start winless stretch, getting his first victory since May 11 against Tampa Bay.

"Great job. Great job," said Mark Trumbo, who hit two solo homers. "He had everything working there. That's a good-hitting team, a lot of really good players, and he kept them in check. Great fastball command and really good off-speed, as well."

Gausman is enjoying a solid run of pitching where he has allowed three, two, two, one and two runs over those past five outings.

"I feel like I'm throwing the ball well and feel good with my delivery," he said. "Ever since I went hands over the head (in his windup), it is just night and day. I'm able to command the ball and (also) all my off-speed pitches. That is the key word - consistency and trying to be the same guy every five days,"

Today he allowed one run during a 19-pitch first inning. But then he needed just seven pitches in the second, followed by innings of 13, five, nine, 16 and 11 pitches.

"I felt good. They were coming at me early on, swinging early in the count," Gausman said. "Got some good ground balls and we turned a couple of double plays. You know that is always good, especially when it's hot like today. Trying to get the guys back into the dugout to cool off. Had some quick innings, so that's always good.

"That (the low pitch count) was huge. It was just about minimizing damage. I gave up a couple of hits early in some innings, like I said, but was able to get some groundball double plays. Really felt like I was kind of in control the whole game really."

Gausman also enjoyed relaxing during the Orioles' six-run fourth inning and two-run fifth, which gave him the big run support most O's starters have lacked this year.

"That's huge and that gave me a little time in there, too," Gausman said. "Pretty hot out there. Taking any extra time you get to grab some water and use that big fan we have out there. With our lineup, we are always a couple of swings away."

Those swings came in the fourth and fifth, and the Orioles' four homers today tied a season high and were their most since May 13. Runs have been hard to come by in most games for this team.

"Sure, they have been," Trumbo said. "It's been tough. I think it was a good sign that (Adam Jones' hit on a misplayed popup) ... even something like that falling, it feels like it's going your way. That was good for the momentum, and then seeing Manny right in front of me get into one. Up to that point, (Deck McGuire) really hadn't given up much. It gave me a little more confidence that I might get something to hit."

Trumbo's two solo homers produced his 13th career multi-homer game and first of this year. Machado (No. 21) and Trey Mancini (No. 11) also connected. Tim Beckham added a two-run single and Steve Wilkerson had two hits and an RBI double.

The Orioles ended a seven-game losing streak and a 17-game game losing streak versus AL opponents dating to May 25. They improved to 1-5 against the Angels and won for just the second time in the 19 home games.

But Trumbo said Gausman was the key. He's quietly starting to put together a solid season even if the Orioles are just 5-12 in his games.

"I think he's kind of under the radar," said Trumbo. "He's been a frontline starter in a lot of ways. I know that our record has got to be the bigger story, but I think he's taken some big steps forward and shut down some really good offenses."