Davis drives in go-ahead run, Gausman gets the win as O's top Cleveland
For one inning at least, the Orioles broke out of their offensive doldrums in Cleveland, as the longball returned to their offense. They used those runs and a strong outing from Kevin Gausman to beat Cleveland 4-1 today at Progressive Field.
The Orioles avoided a three-game sweep as they improved to 70-52. They had not lost three in a row since dropping four straight from May 27-30.
A Jason Kipnis bloop RBI single in the fourth had given Cleveland a 1-0 lead, but the O's came to bat down by that margin in the sixth. They had not scored in their previous 17 innings in the series.
But Steve Pearce led off the inning with a double and Adam Jones was hit by a pitch. Scott Athchison then came on to replace Danny Salazar and he got the next two batters out. But J.J. Hardy singled to right to tie the game 1-1 and a Chris Davis double to left made it 2-1.
Davis was 2-for-22 with 11 strikeouts over his last six games. But he went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles today.
An inning later, Pearce homered to left for a 3-1 lead. It was his 12th homer and he ended a 19-game RBI drought. Pearce had never hit more than four homers in a season before 2014.
Jonathan Schoop hit a solo homer to center in the ninth to add to that lead. It was his 12th of the year and third in his last five games.
The Orioles outhit Cleveland 12-2 today and they are now 45-6 when they out-homer an opponent this year (14-0 in the second half).
Gausman gave up just two hits and the one run over six innings. He walked four and fanned two, throwing 91 pitches. Gausman improved to 7-4 with an ERA of 3.70. He allowed one run or fewer for the seventh time in his 13 starts and the O's are now 9-4 in those games.
The bullpen protected the lead as Darren O'Day pitched a scoreless seventh. Andrew Miller struck out the side in the eighth and Zach Britton pitched the ninth to record his 26th save.
The four pitchers combined on a two-hitter, the low-hit game of the year by O's pitching.
Winners of nine of 13, 15 of 22 and with a 44-25 record since May 31, the Orioles now head to Chicago. In the opener of their series with the White Sox, Bud Norris (10-7, 3.75 ERA) faces left-hander Chris Sale (10-2, 2.01 ERA) on Monday night.
But Steve Pearce led off the inning with a double and Adam Jones was hit by a pitch. Scott Athchison then came on to replace Danny Salazar and he got the next two batters out. But J.J. Hardy singled to right to tie the game 1-1 and a Chris Davis double to left made it 2-1.
Davis was 2-for-22 with 11 strikeouts over his last six games. But he went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles today.
An inning later, Pearce homered to left for a 3-1 lead. It was his 12th homer and he ended a 19-game RBI drought. Pearce had never hit more than four homers in a season before 2014.
Jonathan Schoop hit a solo homer to center in the ninth to add to that lead. It was his 12th of the year and third in his last five games.
The Orioles outhit Cleveland 12-2 today and they are now 45-6 when they out-homer an opponent this year (14-0 in the second half).
Gausman gave up just two hits and the one run over six innings. He walked four and fanned two, throwing 91 pitches. Gausman improved to 7-4 with an ERA of 3.70. He allowed one run or fewer for the seventh time in his 13 starts and the O's are now 9-4 in those games.
The bullpen protected the lead as Darren O'Day pitched a scoreless seventh. Andrew Miller struck out the side in the eighth and Zach Britton pitched the ninth to record his 26th save.
The four pitchers combined on a two-hitter, the low-hit game of the year by O's pitching.
Winners of nine of 13, 15 of 22 and with a 44-25 record since May 31, the Orioles now head to Chicago. In the opener of their series with the White Sox, Bud Norris (10-7, 3.75 ERA) faces left-hander Chris Sale (10-2, 2.01 ERA) on Monday night.
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