Orioles lose big lead and another game (with quotes)

MINNESOTA - A game that started with back-to-back home runs for the Orioles, that began with such promise that a six-run lead was attached to it like ribbon, deteriorated into one of the worst losses of the season.

The fact that it doesn't immediately vault to No. 1 without debate speaks volumes.

Kevin Gausman failed to record an out in the fifth inning, another sizeable margin punctured under his watch, and the Orioles fell to the Twins 9-6 before an announced crowd of 28,668 at Target Field.

The Orioles (40-46) are six games below .500 for the first time since Sept. 8, 2015, when they were 66-72. They've lost five in a row and seven of eight, and they're 15-30 on the road and 6-16 against the American League Central.

Zach Britton allowed two runs in the eighth inning in his second appearance since coming off the disabled list. The final indignity came when Byron Buxton scored from first base on Brian Dozier's single up the middle, a ball that scooted under Rubén Tejada's glove.

Gausman was charged with five earned runs and six total in four-plus innings to leave his first-half ERA at 5.85 in 97 innings. He surrendered nine hits and they came in a variety pack of choppers and ropes. The fifth inning alone included a triple, two doubles and two singles.

The hit batters with the bases full belongs in its own category.

Seth Smith and Manny Machado homered within the first five pitches thrown by Felix Jorge, making his second major league start. Machado homered again in the third inning as part of his four-hit night, his three-run shot giving him 18 on the season to claim the team lead from Jonathan Schoop.

Trey Mancini had an RBI single that scored Mark Trumbo in the third to increase the lead to 6-0. The Orioles finally were on the right side of a beatdown. But only for a short while.

Gausman struck out five batters in three scoreless innings and the Orioles gave him a nice cushion. He was pointed toward his third win in his last three starts. But cruise control tends to jam for the Orioles. An inning gains speed and they lose traction.

The Twins collected four straight singles with one out in the fourth inning, the first two balls staying in the infield, and Gausman hit Chris Gimenez with the bases loaded to force in a run and reduce the lead to 6-2.

Gausman struck out the next two batters on six pitches to regain control, but he failed to retire a batter in the fifth, giving up a leadoff triple to Dozier on a ball that stayed in the right field corner and an RBI double to Robbie Grossman on a grounder up the line that sneaked past Mancini's glove.

Machado committed a throwing error on Miguel Sanó's chopper - Mancini stretched and couldn't make the catch - and Max Kepler delivered an RBI single that chased Gausman after 100 pitches.

Kennys Vargas greeted Miguel Castro with a two-run double to left-center field that tied the game and he scored with one out on Gimenez's single. The Twins had come all the way back to take a 7-6 lead.

The Orioles put two runners in scoring position in the sixth on singles by Mancini and Hyun Soo Kim and Caleb Joseph's sacrifice bunt, but Tejada struck out and Smith grounded out.

Was Joseph bunting on his own?

Starters continually are burned by big innings. They've allowed three-plus runs in an inning 35 times since May 1 to lead the majors. The Braves and Athletics were next with 31.

Darren O'Day retired all four batters he faced with three strikeouts, but Britton surrendered multiple earned runs for the first time since Sept. 20, 2015.

Smith has hit five of his seven career leadoff home runs this season. Tonight's shot to center field came on an 0-2 pitch and traveled an estimated 409 feet, settling into the grass in front of the batter's eye.

Machado followed with his 17th home run to momentarily tie Schoop. Machado drove the ball to the opposite field, giving the Orioles six back-to-back homers this season.

The Orioles hadn't started a game with consecutive home runs since May 20, 2016 in Anaheim with Joey Rickard and Machado.

Smith had only four hits in his last 33 at-bats and five in his last 38 before destroying Jorge's 92 mph fastball.

Gausman responded with the all-important shutdown inning, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts on 11 pitches. He retired the side in order again on 11 pitches in the bottom of the third.

A pair of shutdown innings. So rare, they should have been delivered on the backs of unicorns.

The Orioles weren't done in the third inning after Machado's second home run, which was set up by Tejada's walk and Smith's single. Trumbo doubled with two outs and scored on Mancini's single, giving the rookie 44 RBIs.

The breaks finally seemed to be jumping sides tonight. Vargas appeared to double with one out in the second inning, but he slid off the bag while Schoop held the tag. The call was overturned upon review. Single and a 7-4 putout.

A 6-0 lead went kaput.

A team and a season are trying to avoid the same disappearing act.

Manager Buck Showalter on one big inning again: "It wasn't just that. He got out at 6-2, so he did stem the tide there somewhat. It wasn't just that one inning. And four infield singles. I'm trying to give Kevin a little break, too. They're doing a lot of things well. They made a couple of defensive stops. Really, four plays. Manny hits a ball off the wall and it comes right back to him. They hit a ball down the corner and it gets stuck. Those things are ... Tonight was an example of a lot of things that usually you get rewarded for."

Showalter on how much fourth inning took out of Gausman: "He probably had as consistent a fastball as he had all year. He couldn't command it those two innings where he got in trouble. His breaking ball had been better and it was early, but he just wasn't able to make that pitch to get out of there. I know it's real frustrating for him. You take the four infield singles and turn them into outs, it's a different situation."

Showalter on whether he thought big lead was sign team was busting out: "No, not at all. I don't think anybody takes that for granted. We've done it to other teams that were up 6-0. It's the American League and you're facing good teams and guys who are hitting sixth and seventh in these lineups are hitting third and fourth in the minor leagues. Everybody is lethal and we treat them as such. But yeah, it's disappointing."

Showalter on Machado: "Tonight was good. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Tonight was good. He didn't get pull happy. Tonight he had a really good approach. We'll see what tomorrow brings."

Machado on whether he thought big lead meant team was putting it all together: "I don't know if you can say that, but we went out there and did our jobs and things didn't turn out how we wanted it to. Something that, this game's a beauty and things like that happen all the time. We can have good days and it could change in a heartbeat.

"They're a good team over there and you've got to give them credit for what they're doing. It's not like we're making errors and making dumb pitches. Gausman went out there and threw hell of a pitches. They were just making better contact. There was just nothing we could do about it."

Machado on how tough it is for team right now: "It's baseball. We've all got to struggle. We all struggle some way or another. We go 0-for-30, pitchers get rocked out there. It's just part of the game. This is what we're going through right now. It's just going to make us stronger down the line. The more you get together, the more you keep playing as a team. We'll just keep going stronger as a team and at the end of the day we're going to have something better than another team will have.

"We've just got to keep grinding it out, keep playing and things will start turning around. Hits will start falling and things will start going our way sometime. Obviously, we don't know when that's going to be, but all we can do and control is going out there and playing and just leaving it on the field like we did today."

Machado on whether it's a good sign the way he hit the ball: "No, we lost, we lost, so it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. I want to win. A day like this, it's not a good day. It's a bad day. I hit two homers and drove in a couple runs, but at the end of the day it's all about Ws. I'm not going to go out there and be happy about my day. Tomorrow's another day and hopefully we come out there and I can do the same thing to try to help my team win and put us in a good position."

Gausman on what happened: "You know, they battled. They fouled off a lot of pitches, but kind of the story of my season so far. Getting two strikes and giving up hits on two strikes. I've got to be better at that. Obviously, didn't want to hit a guy to bring in a run. Those are the things you need to manage."

Gausman on pitch count rising: "Yeah like I said, they did a good job of battling. They fouled off a lot of pitches, got my pitch count up and got into a lot of deep counts. I threw some real good of pitcher's pitches that they were taking because I was behind in the count. That's something I've got to be better than that. Obviously, you get a six-run lead like that, you kind of have some wiggle room, but you definitely can't let your foot off the gas pedal. That's for sure."

Gausman on a hard loss: "It's tough. Obviously, I wanted to be the guy to right the ship and turn us around tonight. We have two more games this series. Hopefully, we kind of gain some momentum and build some momentum going into the break. We got off to a great start offensively obviously, six runs in the first couple innings. Just what a starting pitcher wants. But I just tried to battle as much as I could and like I said, left a couple key pitches in bad spots and unfortunately some of those infield hits kind of came around and scored. You just have to try to minimize."

Gausman on being more aggressive up six runs: "Yeah, you try to pound the strike zone. You don't want to walk guys and put guys on base. I think the best inning I had was the third. We were up 6-0 and I go out and get them 1-2-3 and get the guys right back in the dugout, right back in the box. But obviously that fourth and fifth weren't very good."

More Gausman: "I think the way we started off tonight, if I go out there and do what I can do and pitch even six shutout innings, it's a completely different ballgame. We're sitting here right now talking about how we got off to a great start and doing what we usually do, which is hit homers, score a lot of runs and play solid defense, so obviously right now this is tough.

"This is a tough loss and we're a tight-knit group, so we've talked about it. It's not for a lack of trying, that's for sure. Everybody is busting their butt and doing everything extra they need to be ready, so obviously it's tough, but hopefully the baseball gods will start to look in our favor."