Kevin Gausman allows eight runs in shortest career start as Minnesota beats O's

Maybe we should have known it might not be the Orioles' night when they went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position in the first two innings. If that didn't clue us in, an ugly four-run last of the fourth, which put Minnesota ahead 8-0, surely was convincing.

Kevin Gausman allowed a career-high eight runs while pitching just 3 2/3 innings as Minnesota hammered the Orioles 8-3. It was the shortest outing of Gausman's 28 career major league starts.

The Orioles fall to 43-41 and have lost five of six and seven of their last nine games. They have now lost three straight series after going 7-0-1 in the previous eight.

But with New York losing 4-3 to Oakland tonight, the Orioles remain 1 1/2 games back of the Yankees for first place in the American League East.

Minnesota hit the ball hard from the start against Gausman. Trevor Plouffe's RBI double and Miguel Sano's first career homer, a two-run shot, made it 3-0 in the first. A run scored on a Matt Wieters passed ball for a 4-0 lead in the third.

Minnesota's four-run fourth featured a bases-loaded walk issued by Brad Brach after Gausman was pulled and Eddie Rosario's two-run single.

Gausman, who was coming off a 6 1/3-innings outing in which he did not allow a run, gave up seven hits and eight runs, seven of which were earned. He is 1-1 with an ERA that jumped from 3.09 to 5.00.

The Orioles scored on J.J. Hardy's two-run homer in the fifth. It was his fifth on the season and scored Travis Snider, who had singled. They added a run in the eighth on Adam Jones' RBI double. Jones went 2-for-4 with two doubles.

The Twins improve to 45-39 overall, 27-15 at home and 11-4 versus the AL East.

In the series finale on Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 p.m., Ubaldo Jimenez (7-4, 2.96 ERA) pitches against left-hander Tommy Milone (4-1, 3.02 ERA).

The Orioles have not been swept in a three-game series at Minnesota since April 2-4, 2007.