Bud Norris on his struggles tonight and this season

After he struggled badly tonight, allowing four homers to tie his career high and five runs in six innings in a 8-1 loss to Texas, Orioles right-hander Bud Norris admitted that his confidence may have taken a hit this year.

"Probably a little bit," he said. "This game is very humbling. I know what I can do and have to work through it. I know these guys are pushing me and that is encouraging.

"I really didn't have much of my breaking stuff tonight, and three of the homers were on breaking balls and one changeup. Just some bad pitches. Hard to pitch with just a fastball. I'm pretty frustrated myself.

"I tried to battle through. I've been throwing the ball better as of late. Really just trying to turn this ship. I've got some great teammates around me that keep picking me up, and it's pretty special to know I've got these guys around me. Got to get a little bit better and keep grinding this thing out."

He is now 2-7 with an ERA of 6.79 in 11 starts. He has a 7.86 ERA in five home starts.

Norris was told by a reporter that manager Buck Showalter mentioned it's a long season and that he has time to turn it around.

"I really think that is a big part of it, understanding there is a full season. I hope I'm a second-half guy and I know what I did for this team last year in the second half," Norris said. "I want to get back to that same guy. I appreciate the vote of confidence to know these guys have my back. If I find my slider, I feel like I am a lot more in tune with the game. I can take some positives from this but have to look at the negatives too. I have to keep the ball in the ballpark. Frustrating at times but I really don't feel I'm that far off.

"Mechanically, there are some timing issues that I've battled from spring training, my timing mechanism as far as my hand out of my glove. That is something I've really battled my whole career. When I have those timing mechanics, I have the deception and those will propel me to where I want to be and was last year. It is just frustration. I care so much and want to do my part."

Does Norris think about the young pitchers that the O's could turn to if he can't hold his rotation spot?

"I try not to. Buck has given me confidence to go out there and do my job," he said. "He knows what kind of guy I am and that says a lot. I can't worry about what is behind me. I want to help those guys. (Kevin) Gausmans, (Tyler) Wilsons and Mike Wrights. I don't know where my future is going to take me. All I know is I can handle what is in front of me right now and trying to work through this is the No. 1 priority. I failed, but once I get (win) No. 3, I think I can really go from there and turn this thing around."

Catcher Caleb Joseph expressed confidence and support for Norris after the game. However, he also mentioned that Norris' slider has been inconsistent and that the right-hander didn't command the ball as well as he needed to.

"The home runs were just missed spots," Joseph said. "Those guys didn't miss the mistakes. He'll get back to work, and we're going to need him. They are stacking a lot more left-handed lineups against him, and we have to find a way to counter that. You know confidence is a big thing in this game. When you are struggling, confidence can be low and you tend to make more mistakes. He'll get his confidence back up, and we're going to count on him.

"He's a proven major league pitcher and has pitched a lot of meaningful games for us. The game he pitched against Detroit in the playoffs, there was nothing better than that. We know he is that type of pitcher. He'll get back on it. It's a rough patch. A guy so proven like that, you are not going to give up on him. He'll turn it around, and teams will have to pay for that."

Across the clubhouse, Steve Pearce showed support for Norris.

"We still believe in Bud," Pearce said. "He is just struggling right now. If he turns it around for the second half and we get the Bud from last year, that would be great. We know it's in there."

Pearce was called out on strikes twice tonight by home plate umpire John Hirschbeck. Both teams had issues with his strike zone tonight. But Pearce would not publicly criticize Hirschbeck after the game.

"I'm not going to comment on the strike zone," Pearce said. "Going to stay away from that. You all know the rules about that. Just flush it and come back out tomorrow."