Gausman goes eight innings, O's homer four times to end streak

On a day where the Orioles posted their first win against an American League team since May 25, there were co-stars in an 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels at steamy Oriole Park. There was pitcher Kevin Gausman and there was power. The Orioles hit four home runs.

The Orioles went 0-15 versus AL opponents during a 6-20 June and had lost 17 in a row since that late May win versus Tampa Bay. The Orioles (24-59) today snapped a seven-game losing streak and avoided going winless during a seven-game homestand.

Gausman threw a gem, allowing six hits and two runs over eight innings with no walks and two strikeouts on 104 pitches. He improved to 4-6 with a 4.05 ERA. After allowing a first-inning run on 19 pitches, he got through the fourth with just 44 and the sixth at 69. His ERA is 2.78 over his past five starts where he has allowed two or less runs four times.

When Miguel Castro pitched the ninth, Gausman was an inning short of a complete game. Gausman's only previous complete game came on July 13, 2014 against Seattle. Gausman did throw nine scoreless innings this year on May 5 at Oakland, but it wasn't officially a complete game with the Orioles losing 2-0 in 12 innings.

The Orioles backed the right-hander by scoring six runs in the last of the fourth and adding on with two more an inning later. Their four homers today were their most since bashing four on May 13 in a 17-1 romp over Tampa Bay.

The Orioles big fourth began when the Adam Jones hit a popup that dropped on the right side of the infield, apparently lost in the sun. Manny Machado made the Angels pay for that mistake when he hammed a two-run homer to left-center on a Deck McGuire slider. It was Machado's 21st. Mark Trumbo followed with a homer to right for a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, Steve Wilkerson's RBI double made it 4-1 and a two-run single by Tim Beckham made it a 6-1 advantage. The Orioles hit back-to-back homers for the fifth time and the six runs in one inning were one shy of their season high.

Trumbo hit No. 10 off a fastball in the fifth, and one out later, Trey Mancini hit No. 11 for an 8-1 lead. Trumbo produced his 13th career multi-homer game and first of this year. His blast that inning had an exit velocity of 109.8 mph and a distance of 444 feet.

The Orioles had scored just five runs over the previous three games and two runs or less 35 times this season. But with just their six-run inning alone today, they produced more runs than they had in five of the past 32 games.

The Orioles will now take Monday off and open a two-game series at Philadelphia against the Phillies on Tuesday night.