O's game blog: Gausman faces Verlander at Camden Yards

A five-game winning streak now over after Thursday's series opener, the Orioles will try to start a new one tonight. They host the Detroit Tigers in the second game of a four-game series.

The Orioles (53-55) last night missed a chance to get back to the .500 mark for the first time since June 29, when they were 39-39. But an early 7-0 deficit was too deep a hole to get out of, and they lost 7-5 to fall to 33-22 at home, 1-3 versus Detroit and 2-1 in August after a 12-14 month of July.

Despite Chris Tillman allowing seven runs in two-plus innings, O's starters have an ERA of 1.91 their last six games, and 3.45 over the past 10.

Tonight, right-hander Kevin Gausman (8-7, 5.37 ERA) will try to stay on a roll. He pitched 8 2/3 scoreless on Saturday at Texas, throwing 118 pitches in a 4-0 O's win. He was an out away from becoming the first Oriole since Miguel Gonzalez on Sept. 3, 2014 against Cincinnati to throw a complete-game shutout.

Gausman has thrown 14 2/3 scoreless his past two starts and allowed just one run over 20 2/3 his last three. He is 3-0 with an 0.44 ERA his last three games. He is 5-0 with a 3.15 ERA his past seven outings, throwing scoreless starts four times in that span.

Gausman allows a .267 batting average when pitching with runners in scoring position. But, when pitching with RISP and two outs, that number drops to .104.

Right-hander Justin Verlander (6-7, 4.29 ERA) gets the start for Detroit. He pitched six scoreless in last start, against Houston on Sunday, throwing 110 pitches. In six starts in July, he went 1-3 with a 3.82 ERA.

The No. 2 overall pick by Detroit in the 2004 draft out of Old Dominion University, Verlander won the 2011 American League Cy Young Award. He is a six-time All-Star and has finished in the top seven in the Cy Young voting six times.

In two starts last season versus the Orioles, he went 0-2 with a 2.77 ERA. In 18 career starts, he is 9-5 with a 3.77 ERA. In nine career starts at Oriole Park, he is 7-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 1.031 WHIP.

Tim Beckham is 7-for-12 in his first three O's games with three doubles, a triple, a homer and three RBIs. He has recorded three straight multi-hit games for the first time in his career.

Adam Jones went 2-for-3 with two walks last night. He is 8-for-19 (.421) in four games this year against Detroit. He is a career .340 (17-for-50) hitter versus the Tigers.