Wrapping up a 4-0 win

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles posted their first shutout victory of the season tonight and returned to .500 with a 4-0 win over the Rays before 12,789 at Tropicana Field.

The game took 2 hours, 33 minutes to complete and included a four-out save for Brad Brach and the rotation's fifth consecutive quality start.

Miguel Gonzalez has allowed one earned run or fewer in three of his five starts, and left the ballpark tonight with a 2.59 ERA.

"Command of the fastball and it goes from there," said manager Buck Showalter. "He was carrying a couple extra clicks with the fastball. He had seven days off. Brad had six off. It's just a matter of whether they were going to be able to command it.

"He's a guy with a good feel for his mechanics. Wally (Dave Wallace) and Dom (Chiti) do so much work between their starts, especially with some of the challenges we've had with the inconsistency of outings to keep guys in sync. But to be carrying that extra fastball is one thing. It's having command of it. He got a lot of first-pitch, get-me-over breaking ball strikes, too."

Orioles starters have recovered from a rough stretch to work through the sixth inning in six consecutive games.

"I wouldn't say it's a surprise, but it's not the norm when you've had that type of layoffs and whatever," Showalter said. "We'll get to a point here very quickly where it's going to be every fifth day and everybody grab a piece of the rope. I couldn't have drawn it up any better getting Brad out there for a little bit, and you could see he was carrying a little more fastball. I was really pleased that they had command of it, too."

Brach stranded two runners in the eighth after replacing Gonzalez and retired the Rays in order in the ninth. He's allowed one earned run in his last six outings spanning eight innings.

"It's a game of inches. It is," Showalter said. "I say it all the time. A ball hits a catwalk by a foot last night. A foot or two more is in the stands and who knows what happens? But Brad was a big part of what we did last year and he's starting to get back in sync a little bit."

Rays starter Chris Archer hasn't allowed an earned run this season against anyone except the Orioles.

"I was looking over some of his outings and tape," Showalter said. "I don't know if there's anybody in baseball who threw any better in his last four starts. And he threw well again tonight. He just ran into Miguel, who was a little bit better."

Gonzalez most definitely was the better pitcher tonight, retiring 17 of the last 20 batters he faced.

"I think from the get-go my fastball was pretty good, both sides of the plate, and we played a really good ball game overall," Gonzalez said. "Everything was great. I think Caleb (Joseph) called a great game as well and our defense was good. We scored some runs and that's why we were able to win this ball game."

The extended rest didn't challenge Gonzalez, who exhibited no signs of rust.

"You've just got to be mentally strong and ready to go each time you're out there and just make your pitches," he said. "I was a little amped up the first couple innings. The ball was up. I was able to settle down and we got the win."

Gonzalez knows the Rays have been scuffling for runs, but he wasn't taking them lightly.

"Well, it's a big league team," he said. "It doesn't matter who you face. They have a good lineup. We all know. Yesterday, (Chris) Tillman pitched a really good game and unfortunately we came up a little short. Their pitching staff's been doing a really good job.

"Everyone's getting their mindset right and as the season goes on we feel a little more confident and we're making our pitches when we need to and giving the team a chance to win ballgames."

Joseph was in sync with Gonzalez the entire night.

"Really locating the fastball and made a ton of quality pitches," Joseph said. "Last time he faced these guys, he struggled in the first inning and then turned it around and had a quality start. His stuff just plays really well against these guys. As it got deeper he really mixed in the curveball and split and really kept them off balance all night."

How does Joseph explain the Orioles' success against Archer, who hadn't allowed an earned run in 28 2/3 innings?

"The big thing is we put balls in play," Joseph said. "His location was off, you could tell. But we didn't strike out a single time against him and I think he's leading the league in strikeouts. Just shows what happens when you put the ball in play, especially in the big leagues and make them field the ball."

Joseph hit one where only the fans could reach it.

"It was a slider," he said. "When a guy throws 95, 97, you've got to sit fastball, especially 3-2. It caught too much plate and I got enough of it and hit it. I knew it was a loud noise, but I didn't know it was going to go that far.

"At the end of the day it was a big run for us, because when you have three you never know what can happen. Push it to four, it takes a grand slam to beat you."

Joseph noted the life on Brach's pitches.

"He's got such a devastating changeup," Joseph said. "That pitch has really come around for him. He's got a lot of deception and he came in and did a good job filling in for Miggy and then closing it out in the ninth. He got a big out there with (Steven) Souza. He's done a great job for us since we got here and we're going to count on him."

Joseph noticed the extra miles-per-hour on fastballs from pitchers who are working on extended rest following the back-to-back postponements this week and Thursday's off-day.

"Sometimes it kind of plays against them, too, because they're so used to throwing certain innings certain days," Joseph said. "Like tonight, Brach had a lot on it so a couple times we had to tell him, 'Hey, slow it down a little bit.' But it's a good problem to have. You'd rather have to slow a guy down then get him going. So, it's fun for a catcher. You've really got to focus when it's coming in there at 97."

Steve Pearce had one of the game's biggest hits with a two-run double in the third.

"I was just looking to drive runners in. That was pretty much it," he said. "I got a pitch out over the plate I could handle. He left one up and I was able to put good wood on it.

"I feel like we play better against better pitching. I really believe that. That's how we always play. We step up to the challenge. That's just how we do it."

Pearce said the team expects Gonzalez to be good every time he takes the mound.

"He had good flow, good rhythm to the game and you can see when he gets locked into the zone that he's tough to hit. You can see it in the opponents, too, how frustrated they get when he's locked in," Pearce said.

Gonzalez is 9-5 with a 2.31 ERA in 16 starts since the All-Star break.

"He's very underrated and I hope it stays that way, because he kind of sneaks up on people and he shuts them down," Pearce said. "He's so consistent that we almost expect that out of him every time he goes out to pitch. You can just see it. When he's on the mound, he has a presence and that's great for a pitcher."