Orioles unable to maintain roll in 8-7 loss to Astros (with quotes)

The Astros hit for the cycle nine batters into tonight's game and led by five runs after the second inning. A season didn't die, but the buzz from a four-game sweep was killed.

Ubaldo Jiménez turned in another unsatisfactory performance, raising questions about his status in the rotation and the organization for the umpteenth time, and the Orioles opened their weekend series with an 8-7 loss before an announced crowd of 25,784 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are 46-50 overall and 0-4 against the Astros, who swept them at Minute Maid Park.

Adam Jones had a two-run double off James Hoyt after Rubén Tejada walked with one out and pinch-hitter Hyun Soo Kim poked a double to left field. Jonathan Schoop greeted Chris Devenski with a three-run homer to right field on the first pitch, but the rally fell short.

Schoop had four RBIs tonight to raise his team-leading total to 67.

More boos could be heard as Jiménez walked off the mound with one out in the sixth inning, the same reaction following his last start. He allowed six runs and 10 hits and raised his ERA to 7.19 in 92 2/3 innings.

Jiménez has a 7.82 ERA in 76 innings as a starter. The rest of the rotation includes Chris Tillman at 7.20, Kevin Gausman at 6.11 and Wade Miley at 5.58.

Since tossing eight scoreless innings in Toronto, Jiménez has allowed 21 runs and 31 hits over 19 innings in his next four starts.

The first inning was a sampler platter, with Jiménez striking out three batters but also allowing a single, double and home run and walking a batter. A little something for everybody.

Carlos Beltrán singled with two outs to score Jose Altuve, who walked and stole second base. Yuli Gurriel followed with his 12th home run, as Jiménez plodded through a 29-pitch inning.

Alex Bregman singled to lead off the second and scored on Colin Moran's triple. Joey Rickard took a poor route to the ball and dived in right-center field in an attempt to smother it.

Jiménez stranded two runners in the third and another in the fourth, his pitch count growing to 82, and a double play bailed him out in an eight-pitch fifth. But Brian McCann led off the sixth with a home run and Jiménez was gone after retiring the next batter.

Three straight two-out singles off Richard Bleier, the last by Josh Reddick, increased the lead to 7-1. Moran led off the eighth with a home run, his first in the majors.

Moran is the nephew of former Oriole B.J. Surhoff. His brother Brian was at the Orioles' minor league camp in spring training.

The Orioles broke through against Mike Fiers in the bottom of the third on consecutive singles by Tejada and Joey Rickard and a two-out bloop single into right field by Schoop that reduced the lead to 5-1.

Schoop has RBIs in the last five games and 13 in that stretch. Tejada's single was his 12th hit in his last eight games.

Mark Trumbo had a two-out RBI single off reliever Michael Feliz in the bottom of the eighth and Jones made certain in the ninth that the Orioles wouldn't be held to three runs or less for the 47th time.

Schoop raised hopes, and Machado's right arm, with his three-run shot. Two outs remained, but Chris Davis bunted back to the mound and Ken Giles recorded the save by striking out Trumbo.

Manager Buck Showalter on Jiménez's issues last four starts: "You ask me how, it's command. Fastball. If you look back through where he's trying to go and where it ends up. They're a good-hitting team. At one point they had six guys hitting over .300. You make those mistakes out over the plate, you'll pay a price. But velocity-wise he's about as good as we've seen him over a stretch of time, but he can't seem to corral it and get where he needs to get it. We've been good about getting some shutdown innings. Richard's been real good, but we weren't able to do that. But their guy was pretty good. We knew exactly what he was going to do and he did it anyway."

On ninth inning: "We strung together some good at-bats. I real proud of Kimmy. He comes off the bench not seeing much playing time and hits a changeup down the left field line, the only place you can hit a pitch like that. Really, it's all over baseball, not just him. You've got to be able to handle something off-speed. Their guy reminds me a lot of Estrada in Toronto. A lot of changeups, high fastballs, big leg kick, front side jumps at you. He seems to always be throwing the pitch you're not looking for. But obviously it was different pitchers that we did it against. Their bullpen's been pretty good, too. That's a good baseball team. We came within a swing of tying it up."

On whether bullpen is option with Jiménez: "It's always a possibility, but you can say that about a few other guys, too. Certainly another topic after he has a tough outing and I understand why, but we'll see. He's capable of better."

On whether there's anyone at Triple-A Norfolk who could be considered: "Yes, there is. There's always that possibility, Now you've got seven pitching staffs in the organization. There's a lot of guys if that's the description. But there's a lot of ramifications that come with it. Obviously, the priority when you start a season is the major league club, getting in the playoffs and winning a championship. I'm focused on trying to make what we have, which has been good at times and in the past, as good as it can be. It's capable of better, and that's where I'm dwelling.

"I look at box scores and what have you. There are people down there capable of pitching well up here, that's for sure."

On falling behind big again: "We've come back from a couple of those deficits recently. It does cast a little challenge that you don't want to see every night. Especially this time of year when it's hot and sticky. He wants to pitch well. He really wants to. It's not like he's trying not to pitch well. We get some pure shutdown innings from the bullpen tonight and it's a different situation. But you're also going to see some different pitchers in the game if that's the case.

"It bothers him. I wouldn't take any of our pitcher's professional demeanor as if it doesn't eat at them."

On Davis' bunt: "He gets it down and Trumbo hits a two-run homer, I get it. He feels it. I don't know if he's not feeling particularly good at the plate and passing the baton. I don't ever have a problem with someone feeling something and going for it. I don't dwell on that. It certainly leaves yourself open for people to chirp about that and understandably. I got it. But it's not something I'm going to chastise him about. It's one of the reason guys have been able to play with free flow is you feel something, you see it and you go for it."