Andrew Cashner allows 10 runs as O's lose big (with postgame quotes)

ARLINGTON, Texas - So if you take the Orioles out of Yankee Stadium, where they are 4-2 this year, they are just not a very good road team, right?

Wednesday's win in New York was followed up by tonight's 17-8 blowout loss to the Texas Rangers in front of 19,367 at Globe Life Park. The Orioles lose the series opener and are 9-39 in road games this season not at Yankee Stadium.

This game got so out of hand that Danny Valencia came on to pitch with two outs in the last of the eighth. And he struck out Joey Gallo looking with a 91 mph fastball. Yep, that happened. He was first O's position player to pitch since Ryan Flaherty versus Houston on Aug. 20, 2016.

O's right-hander Andrew Cashner got just five outs in the 95-degree heat and allowed a career-high 10 runs as the Orioles trailed 10-1 after the second inning. Cashner's season high for runs allowed was seven and his previous career high was eight. That happened twice, most recently on Sept. 25, 2017 for Texas against Houston.

When Cashner pitched last season for the Rangers, he went 11-11 with a 3.40 ERA. In 14 home starts in this ballpark, he went 5-5 with a 2.72 ERA. But his former team pounded him tonight as he fell to 3-10 and his ERA jumped from 4.33 to 5.05.

After new Oriole Jonathan Villar led off the game with a single and later scored on Mark Trumbo's groundout, Texas scored in the next four innings to move ahead 13-1. The Rangers got three runs in the first, seven in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth.

Jurickson Profar hit a three-run homer off Cashner in the first and he didn't miss it. He blasted a fastball 436 feet into the second deck in right field. Profar would add an RBI single in the second when the Rangers plated seven runs on six hits. The Rangers scored the last six runs of that inning after Cashner had two outs.

The lead grew to 11-1 on Elvis Andrus' double in the third and to 13-1 when Texas scored twice in the fourth off right-hander Jhan Mariñez, who left the game with an apparent injury while warming up before the last of the fifth. On the MASN telecast, Caleb Joseph indicated that he may have suffered a groin injury.

Down by 12 runs, the Orioles hit a couple of homers to pull within eight runs. Trumbo's 997th career hit was a two-run shot in the fifth. An inning later, Joseph's third homer of the year was a two-run shot that made it 13-5.

But Texas was not done scoring. Rougned Odor, who walked four times in the first four innings to record a career high in walks, hit a two-run homer off Miguel Castro in the sixth and it was 15-5. An inning later, Gallo's homer off Tanner Scott made it 16-5. Gallo hit No. 27.

The 17 runs are the most allowed by the Orioles this year. The previous high given up was 15 on May 8 versus Kansas City. Texas recorded season highs in runs and with 18 hits. The Rangers had 10 extra-base hits, their most since July 25, 2011.

The Orioles scored eight tonight and they've scored 80 runs in 12 games since the All-Star break. They are 5-7 in those games and now 33-76 for the season. Before this defeat, the Orioles had won four of five and five of their last seven games.

Postgame note: Marinez left the game due to a hamstring injury. The Orioles may have to make at least one roster move for the bullpen before Friday's game.

Postgame quotes:

Manager Buck Showalter on Cashner: "He was just up. He was elevated (with his pitches) from the get-go. Everything. You could tell there was such a fine line there. Two or three inches up, it's a big difference at this level. We knew they were swinging the bats well. He wasn't the only one. We scored a lot of runs. Enough to win. You know it's a hitter-friendly place and they've got good hitters, which makes it friendly, too. So we did enough offensively and had a lot of good at-bats. We pushed a run across real quick. Lot of times, guys with a good track record like Andrew, they fall in step after a tough first inning. But he could never get it going. But he wasn't the only one. We struggled in the whole pitching department."

Showalter on using Valencia to pitch: "You look at the track record. I don't like it all. I tried everything possible. We got to where Tanner, I just wasn't going to go any farther. Mariñez not being able to pitch that second inning, I knew we were going to have a tough time with it. Fortunately, Tanner got a 10-pitch inning before and I thought he might get us through there, but I didn't like it. His velocity was starting to tick down and his command was going away.

"You know Trumb wanted to do it. Trumb started as a pitcher. It's so hard picking who. ... I know Danny is not going to start until the day after tomorrow. So, you know, I felt like his arm would be OK. Tough decision. Tough call. I don't like doing it at all."

Valencia on pitching: "It was pretty cool. I've always envisioned going out there on the mound, messing with the pitchers, telling them, 'I hope I get a chance out there.' You always dream about doing that, but at the same time, Buck came out there and he said, 'Hey, you know, throw strikes. Don't try to overpower anybody,' So I was just really trying to throw it over the plate, not really go max effort out there, just let it go nice and easy. My arm felt pretty good out there."

Can Valencia throw harder than 91 mph?: "I was definitely not going 100 percent today. There's definitely more in the tank. Today, I was probably pitching around 80 percent. I used to pitch in high school and a little bit in college. In the show? I have no show innings. Now I have a third, so that's pretty much it."

Valencia's approach facing Gallo: "I'm thinking I'm trying to strike him out. Just me being competitive. I'm not one of those guys who just lob it over the plate and let them hit it. If he's going to beat me, he's going to beat me with my stuff."

Cashner on a tough night: "I don't think I located all that well. It was really a battle on my front side getting over and finishing my pitches. I didn't really finish any of them. Just a lot of mistakes down the middle. I was really struggling finishing my pitches and I think it showed with everything kind of leaking back over the middle. love pitching here, but just one of those days."