Another look at Friday's loss and notes from the night on the farm

The Houston Astros began last night leading the American League in runs scored, averaging 5.87 per game, and with a 33-11 road record. They built a big early lead and improved on both stats in Friday's 8-7 win over the Orioles.

Houston entered this series scoring a major league-best 7.14 runs per game on the road. When compared to previous full season totals, that number would rank fourth best in big league history.

The Orioles found out about that offense as Houston banged out 16 hits and hit three homers in the win. Houston has now gone 53 straight games with a double. That is the second-longest streak in the majors since 1913, behind only the 1996 Indians (75 in a row).

Houston scored five early runs off Ubaldo Jiménez as the O's offense spent another night in an early hole and playing from behind.

"We just needed to stay within ourselves, do the best we can and, you know, hopefully good things happen," Mark Trumbo said of trailing 5-0 in the second inning.

Down 8-2, the Orioles scored five runs in the ninth. It was a rally that, while it fell short, could create momentum for the rest of the weekend for the Orioles. As least the Orioles hope that is what happens.

"No doubt," Trumbo said. "That's a number of games in a row where we swung the bats pretty well. Today it happened later for us, but that has to give you some confidence."

Jonathan Schoop continued his strong season with a three-run homer in the ninth off Chris Devenski that made it an 8-7 game. Schoop has four straight multi-hit games, during which he is 9-for-18 with two doubles, two homers and 12 RBIs. This torrid stretch has raised his average from .293 to .303.

"He is having a fantastic year," Trumbo said of his younger teammate. "We are all really happy for him. He works extremely hard and it's really starting to pay off. He's coming into his own and looks like a star out there."

Schoop has at least one RBI in five straight games and has 13 total in that span. He is batting .343 with 18 RBIs this month.

Catcher Caleb Joseph went 2-for-4 and is batting .304. Joseph is batting .357 in 41 games since May 8. That is the best batting average for any catcher in the majors since that date (minimum 100 at-bats) and the third-best average for any player since that time.

On the farm Friday night: Triple-A Norfolk won 9-5 at Pawtucket as Luis Sardiñas went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Paul Janish had two hits and three RBIs. Winning pitcher Tyler Wilson allowed two runs over 6 2/3 innings. He is 3-6 with a 4.86 ERA.

Double-A Bowie won via a walkoff victory for the second night in a row. A Garabez Rosa single to left ended the game as Bowie beat Altoona 6-5. Mike Yastrzemski drew a one-out walk and reached third on Austin Wynns' single ahead of Rosa's game-winner. Austin Hays went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs. Ryan Mountcastle went 0-for-4 and is 1-for-9 in his first two Bowie games. The Baysox, who rallied from four runs down to win the last two nights, lead their division by two games with a 52-46 record.

Single-A Frederick has won a season-high five in a row. The Keys beat Wilmington 5-3 as Drew Turbin hit a grand slam. Winning pitcher Reid Love allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings.

Single-A Delmarva beat Augusta 4-3 to complete a three-game sweep and post a fourth straight win. The Shorebirds lead their division in the second half South Atlantic League race at 15-12. Milton Ramos doubled in the go-ahead run in the ninth as Delmarva rallied from 3-1 down in the eighth. Starting pitcher Matthias Dietz gave up two runs over six innings for his eighth quality start. Winning pitcher Steven Klimek threw two scoreless and is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.12.

Vermont won 4-1 at short season Single-A Aberdeen. Starter Brenan Hanifee gave up three runs over 6 1/3 to take the loss and is 4-1 with a 2.10 ERA. Ryan Ripken went 3-for-4 with three singles to raise his average to .304 over 22 games. Ripken is hitting .346 in 15 games this month.

The Gulf Coast League Orioles beat the Rays 9-0 as Willy Yahn had two hits and four RBIs. Yahn, a 25th-round pick last month out of the University of Connecticut, has driven in 11 runs his past eight games. Left-hander Cameron Bishop made his pro debut and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit. Bishop is the Orioles' 26th-round pick out of the University of California-Irvine. His signing was announced just last week.