Gausman surrenders three home runs in 5 1/3 innings (O's lose 6-2)

Eight pitches into today's start and Kevin Gausman was behind 4-0. Eight pitches and two thunderous blows.

A single for Xander Bogaerts, a single for Andrew Benintendi and a long three-run homer for Mookie Betts, who was 0-for-8 in the series. It all happened so fast. Hanley Ramirez destroyed Gausman's next pitch, a hanging slider, and pitching coach Roger McDowell hustled to the mound.

Eight pitches and Gausman's ERA had climbed to 9.16, a level that brings more angst, if not a nose bleed.

Mitch Moreland homered in the fifth inning while the Orioles were waiting to collect their first hit, and the Red Sox built a 6-0 lead and forced manager Buck Showalter to go to his bullpen in the sixth.

The rotation had produced eight quality starts in the last nine games. Gausman again is the exception and he now has one in his five outings.

When we last saw Gausman, he was loading the bases with no outs in the first inning in Cincinnati. He was allowing eight runs over 2 2/3 innings. He was vowing to watch video from the second half of last season in an attempt to correct a mechanical flaw.

He's got more work to do.

In this outing against the Red Sox, Gausman was charged with five runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, with three walks, four strikeouts and three home runs. He threw 98 pitches, 62 for strikes, before Stefan Crichton replaced him.

Benintendi had an RBI single off Crichton in the sixth after Bogaerts singled and moved up on a wild pitch. Mark Trumbo threw out Benintendi trying for the double after playing the ball off the out-of-town scoreboard in right field.

Today's showing left Gausman with a 7.50 ERA in 24 innings. He's allowed 13 runs and 16 hits over eight innings in his last two starts.

Gausman surrendered only one home run in his first four starts. He had that going for him, which was nice. But not today.

Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, the former Orioles farmhand traded for reliever Andrew Miller, retired the first nine batters he faced, on 32 pitches. Gausman was up to 74 pitches after the fourth, his stay on the mound extended by a two-out walk to Bogaerts and Benintendi's bloop single into left field on a ball that shortstop J.J. Hardy attempted to catch with his back to the infield as Craig Gentry pulled up.

Gentry retrieved the ball and lobbed it somewhere in the general vicinity of Chris Davis, allowing Benintendi to take second base and probably turning Showalter's face a deeper shade of red.

Gausman appeared to settle down after the second inning, when the Red Sox loaded the bases on a single, infield hit and walk. Ramirez flied to the edge of the center field warning track, dangerously close to a grand slam. Gausman retired the side in order in the third and should have been out of the fourth on Benintendi's shallow fly ball.

Moreland cleared the center field fence with one out in the fifth, the ball eluding Adam Jones' leaping attempt. Pablo Sandoval walked to open the sixth, Gausman knocked down Marco Hernandez's screaming liner and got the force at second base with a flip and a face plant, and Showalter signaled for Crichton.

Gentry was the Orioles' first baserunner, with a leadoff walk in the fourth inning. They didn't have a hit until Davis led off the fifth with a single over the shift.

Jonathan Schoop walked with two outs, but J.J. Hardy flied out to end the threat.

Gentry has walked twice in six innings.

Update: Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes was ejected in the eighth inning for throwing a pitch behind Manny Machado's head. The ball hit Machado's bat and was ruled a foul, which sent him back to the plate to face Joe Kelly.

Machado delivered an RBI double to center field on Kelly's first pitch, cutting the Red Sox's lead to 6-1. The Orioles had one hit when the inning started, but Adam Jones singled and Machado doubled after the delay.

Machado stared at the Red Sox dugout, but it didn't escalate.

Update II: The Orioles lost to the Red Sox 6-2 and settled for taking two of three games in the series.

Welington Castillo doubled in the ninth and scored with two outs on Hyun Soo Kim's infield hit off Fernando Abad. Machado got one more at-bat, and popped up against Craig Kimbrel to end the game.

It was Kim's first career hit off a left-hander in the majors.