Dylan Bundy on the loss, Manny Machado on Porcello and more

The Orioles' chance to win the American League East took a hit tonight. A relentless offense finally got to right-hander Dylan Bundy, while the Orioles never did much get to right-hander Rick Porcello.

Porcello's complete-game four-hitter on just 89 pitches lifted Boston to a 5-2 win. The Orioles fall to 82-68 and four games back with 12 to play. They will need to win three in a row against Boston, or they will leave this series no closer than three games to the division lead with nine to go.

Porcello is now 21-4 with an ERA of 3.08. He was at just eight pitches after one inning, 22 after three, 48 after five and 70 after seven innings. He mostly rolled through the Orioles with seven strikeouts and no walks. This was his third complete game of the year and seventh of his career.

After retiring the first 11 batters tonight, he hit Manny Machado with a pitch high and tight in the fourth. Machado and Porcello had words as Machado slowly moved toward first with home plate umpire Tim Timmons beside him.

After the game, Machado downplayed what happened that inning.

"He wasn't saying anything," he said of Porcello. "We were just walking to first base talking. Talking like human beings and nothing much was said. We all know, I know, he doesn't want to hit me in that situation. I know who we've got behind me, I'm not dumb. We've got (Mark) Trumbo, (Chris) Davis, guys that, with one swing of the bat, can drive in a couple of runs. I mean, there was nothing much to it honestly."

Porcello made sure there was nothing much to the Orioles' offense as well, holding Baltimore to Trumbo's RBI double in the fourth and Adam Jones' 28th homer in the eighth. The Orioles went 4-for-31 at bat and Porcello retired the side in order five times.

"He threw the ball well. He pounded the strike zone and got us out. Their defense played a helluva defense today. So, you have to tip your caps off. They beat us today and did what they needed to do. He went out and threw strikes. Not saying Dylan (Bundy) didn't. He gave us an opportunity to try and come back and win," Machado said.

Now the Orioles need to dig out of a four-game hole in the AL East.

"We just got the short end of the stick," Machado said. "We have to go out there tomorrow and keep playing baseball, keep grinding it out. It's a big series, so one game is not going to make a difference.

"We still have a lot of games to play. Three more against them to put us back on the track where we need to be. We have to take it one day at a time. We can't sit on this loss. We have a lot of games to play against the division. Don't think about the outcome or the race, think about everyone in this clubhouse and where we want to go," he said.

Bundy took the loss, allowing five runs and six hits over five innings. He gave up two-run homers to Mookie Betts and David Ortiz. That pair has hit 16 of Boston's 28 homers off the Orioles this year. Betts has 31 homers this year, hitting 17 at Fenway Park, eight at Camden Yards in seven games and six everywhere else. At Oriole Park, Betts is batting .500 (13-for-26) with 15 RBIs.

Bundy pitched out of some jams early on before giving up the homers in the third and fifth. Did the heavy duty early work - he needed 42 pitches over the first two innings to strand three runners - catch up to him later?

"You could say that all you want, but I just wasn't making quality pitches and they were putting quality barrel on it. That was all there is to it. That is one of the best lineups in baseball, along with ours. We've got a good one too. They just got me tonight," he said.

It was a night where Bundy didn't seem to use his curveball very much.

"Didn't have a lot of whole lot of feel for it tonight. I was missing down with it, which is better than up. But, didn't have a whole lot of feel for it, so I thought I could pitch inside and use my changeup more, but that didn't work out too well."

Bundy is 9-6 with an ERA of 4.13 over 35 games and 13 starts. He has allowed five runs exactly in four of his past seven starts with an ERA of 6.62. He is at 104 2/3 innings, passing the 100-inning mark for the first time since 2012. He said he is not tiring.

"Physically, my arm is holding up great. Still doing my workouts and my sides in between starts. So, there is no issue there," Bundy said.

The Orioles are 47-28 at home, 36-31 versus the AL East, 8-8 against Boston and 2-3 on this homestand. Tomorrow night, they try to get even in this series when Kevin Gausman (8-10, 3.43 ERA) pitches against left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (2-7, 4.98 ERA) at 7:05 p.m.