Asher's short start leads to longer losing streak

HOUSTON - Now what?

The Orioles lost another lead this afternoon, and it happened again in alarming fashion. Alec Asher threw 42 pitches in the second inning, surrendered six runs to the Astros, and didn't return for the third. A golden opportunity went unclaimed.

Ubaldo Jiménez made his 2017 bullpen debut and the Orioles continued their losing ways with an 8-4 defeat that completed another sweep.

The Astros sent 10 batters to the plate in the second and hit for the cycle. Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve singled, Marwin Gonzalez and Yuli Gurriel doubled, Josh Reddick tripled and George Springer launched a 428-foot two-run homer.

A 3-0 lead was obliterated. A losing streak reached seven games, the Orioles' longest since July 2011, when they dropped nine in a row. They've had six six-game skids since that month.

The Orioles have lost 13 of their last 16 games and are only two above .500 for the first time since they were 4-2 on April 11. Not pitching, not hitting in the clutch, not able to find a way out of it.

A Rays win today would leave them only a half-game behind the Orioles for third place in the American League East. The Orioles begin a three-game series on Monday with the first-place Yankees at Camden Yards, so it doesn't get any easier.

Mark Trumbo belted a bases-empty opposite-field home run off reliever James Hoyt in the eighth inning to complete the scoring.

Asher hit the first batter he faced today, giving him a team-leading six on the season. Springer was wiped out on a 3-6-3 double play and Asher made it back to the dugout on 12 pitches after retiring Altuve.

Asher's ERA was 2.17 to start the day and grew to 3.77 after the second inning. He allowed six runs and six hits and threw a wild pitch, the ball scooting under catcher Welington Castillo's mitt and through his legs as Gurriel raced home. Probably a passed ball, but really, it was the least of the worries.

Carlos Beltrán greeted Jiménez, demoted to the bullpen in favor of Asher, with a leadoff double in the third. Evan Gattis hit into a force and Jiménez nearly started a 1-6-3 double play, except that the call at second was overturned. Gurriel followed with an RBI single up the middle, because that's life as an Oriole these days. From inning-ending double play to run-scoring hit.

Nori Aoki doubled and the wild pitch followed.

Jiménez retired the last 11 batters and 16 of 18 to prevent manager Buck Showalter from depleting his bullpen. He didn't issue a walk over six innings. Take the silver lining on a day when Asher couldn't grab the golden opportunity.

Jonathan Schoop followed Seth Smith's leadoff single in the first inning with a two-run homer off Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. Schoop drove in another run in the second on an infield hit after Castillo reached on an error, Hyun Soo Kim singled and Paul Janish reached on McCullers' throwing error to load the bases.

The Orioles were rolling, and then the wheels came off.

Someone needs to reattach them before the Orioles slide to the bottom of the standings.