Looking at Gausman's adjustment on the mound

The next time Kevin Gausman takes the mound in a relief role, check whether he's pitching from the stretch instead of a windup with no runners on base.

Gausman has done it in his last two appearances, most recently on Sunday afternoon, when he tossed two scoreless innings against the Red Sox to complete the Orioles' 8-3 victory at Fenway Park. He entered the game at the start of the eighth inning, the bases clean, and worked from the stretch.

Gausman said he made the change after talking to bullpen coach Dom Chiti.

"I've just been doing it because I talked to Dom about whatever you warm up doing, that's what you continue to do," Gausman said. "I've been coming in with guys on base, so I've been going out of the stretch. Throwing from the windup, my only time doing it before in the game was my warmups, so that's why I did it.

"Probably my last outing was the first time I did it. It's pretty comfortable, but I definitely need to keep doing it out of the windup just to be ready if I do start one day or if they need a spot starter. Just one of those things you can't just stop doing."

The adjustments continue for Gausman, the starter-turned-reliever who lowered his ERA on Sunday from 9.00 to 6.75 in five appearances out of the bullpen.

"I think me, personally, I feel a lot better out of the stretch than I do the windup, so it's been real comfortable for me," he said. "I don't know. I guess it kind of simplifies things. The less things I need to worry about being out of whack."

Gausman retired six of the seven batters he faced on Sunday after being scored upon in his first four outings.

"It was good," he said. "Obviously, I've given up some home runs in some bad situations, but other than that I feel like I've been pitching well, so to finally have the results to go with it was definitely nice."

Gausman retired the final batter of the game, an honor that last came to him at LSU. He hasn't pitched a nine-inning complete game or been used to cover the ninth.

"It was weird for me," he said. "I've never been at the end of a game, so when I got that last out, I almost turned and started running back to the dugout. Then I was like, 'Wait.' It was kind of weird."

Gausman offers rare flexibility in the bullpen for manager Buck Showalter because he can be optioned to the minors if the Orioles need a fresh arm. They'd like to move him into the rotation at some point - they couldn't work out a trade at the end of spring training to create a spot - and Gausman said he's stretched out enough to change roles.

"I think I still probably could," he said. "I would probably need one or two bullpens, and then maybe one extended start. But physically it's really not that big of a difference just because I started the whole spring and I've done it most of my career."

Bud Norris starts tonight in Toronto, where the Orioles begin a three-game series and I separate myself from the team for the first time since Feb. 17.

Norris was charged with eight runs and seven hits in three-plus innings against the Blue Jays on April 10 at Camden Yards. He's 4-1 with a 4.10 ERA in seven career starts against the Jays and 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA in two starts at Rogers Centre.

Jose Reyes is 11-for-30 (.367) with two doubles against Norris, and Dioner Navarro is 6-for-16 (.375) with two doubles and a home run. Jose Bautista is 3-for-15 (.200) with a double and five strikeouts.

Left-hander Mark Buehrle debuted against the Orioles on April 10 and allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings. He's 9-10 with a 3.54 ERA in 25 games (23 starts) against them.

The Orioles have posted a .389 average against Buehrle, but that includes Jonathan Schoop (4-for-11, double and home run), who's on the disabled list.

Delmon Young is 21-for-53 (.396) with two doubles and four home runs, Adam Jones is 14-for-34 (.412) with three doubles and two home runs, Chris Davis is 7-for-23 (.304) with two home runs, Everth Cabrera is 3-for-7 (.429), Caleb Joseph is 3-for-5 (.600) with a double and home run, and Travis Snider is 4-for-6 (.667).

The Orioles have won the last three season series against the Blue Jays after going 0-6-1 from 2005-2011. They've posted three straight seasons of 10-plus wins against Toronto for the first time in franchise history. Howver, they've also lost 44 of the last 64 games at Rogers Centre since June 2008.

Since 2012, Davis (21) and Jones (16) rank first and second in home runs against the Blue Jays.

Closer Zach Britton was 5-for-5 in save chances against the Blue Jays last season and allowed one run in 10 innings.

And finally, I'll ask again why Andy Etchebarren isn't in the Orioles Hall of Fame.