Machado: "Eventually things will turn around"

OAKLAND - These are the dog days in baseball and they're staining the Orioles' carpet, chewing up their shoes, waking up the neighbors.

The Athletics have slept through most of the season, but they're energized in this four-game series, winning again tonight 1-0 behind another unheralded pitcher.

The Orioles lost to a last-place team starting Ross Detwiler. They couldn't score a run.

Bad dog days.

"I mean, it's difficult," said third baseman Manny Machado after the Orioles fell into second place in the American League East.

"Every game counts, so it's difficult going out there and we can't find a break. We're squaring balls up and we can't really do anything about it. We're having good at-bats. We're doing what we need to do, trying to get guys over, and it's just not falling for us. So we just have to stay positive, stay together and keep playing as a team and keep doing it. Eventually things will turn around."

Detwiler retired the last 12 batters he faced while going a career-high eight innings. Machado reached on an infield hit off reliever John Axford to lead off the ninth, but the Orioles couldn't push across a run.

"Everyone's struggling right now, everyone's a little tired, everyone's down," Machado said.

"We're trying to do our best to get the head out and get on top of guys as much as we can. We're not finding a break. We're not getting a break. It's just part of the grind, playing August dog days. This is where real teams come out of it and keep grinding, keep fighting, and we're going to hopefully come out on top.

"This is something we're going to have to learn from and we're going to get over this. We know we're better than this and we know what type of players we have in here and what kind of team we have, so keep grinding it out. We're all right. We're going to be fine. This will be past us soon."

Machado agreed that the Orioles (63-50) are facing their biggest challenge and a trip to San Francisco awaits them after Thursday's game.

"Definitely, hands down, it probably is," Machado said. "This is going to separate us, hopefully. We're going to get stronger from this and we're going to learn from it, too.

"I think everyone is going to get into their groove. We're squaring balls up, which is the best part about it. It's just not landing, so we just have to take that as a positive and take it out tomorrow. "

The rotation has been the only real positive with six consecutive quality starts. Yovani Gallardo allowed a run in the third inning and nothing else while working through the sixth, but the Orioles were shut out for the fifth time this season. They've scored three runs in 27 innings in this series.

"It's been one-run games and we've been battling the whole time," Machado said. "Our pitching staff has always been there. Our bullpen's come in and been lights out and giving us an opportunity to win the game, but obviously we're just getting beat by a run. But it's part of the game. Let them keep doing what they're doing and everyone here knows what they've got to do. We'll be all right."

The Orioles are snake bit in the dog days. They hit the ball hard off Detwiler, but had little to show for it. Nothing on the scoreboard.

"Yeah, but that happens," said manager Buck Showalter. "I'm sure if I think back, they did, too. Those things, if you continue to square balls up ... You don't want to take away anything from Detwiler. He took advantage of the opportunity he got tonight. I like some of the at-bats we had, we just haven't been able to string much together."

Such a waste of another fine performance from Gallardo, who came out after 99 pitches. Brad Brach retired all five batters he faced and Zach Britton struck out Khris Davis after walking Yonder Alonso, who drove in the game's only run.

"We wanted to get Brad out there and Zach out there and hopefully be short and they cooperated," said Showalter. "Yovani was good. I think he had one changeup that he got off the end of the bat for the run score from Alonso, but he was good. I think pitchers know when they go out there right now that runs may be at a premium, especially when you're playing night games here."

The Orioles appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Adam Jones' leadoff single, a wild pitch and J.J. Hardy's double to right-center field. Jones was ruled safe at the plate, but the call was overturned after the A's challenged it.

Jones was out 9-4-2, his front foot clearing the plate instead of making contact.

"I don't think one run would have won the ballgame for us," Showalter said. "It's a bang-bang play. If Adam gets his front foot down instead of his back foot down, he's probably safe, but run-scoring opportunities haven't been plentiful lately so you take your shots now and then. Hindsight's real easy."

Pitching was hard for Gallardo until he came off the disabled list. He's allowed two runs or fewer in three of his last four starts and finished six innings in four of five.

"He's healthy," Showalter said. "He was scuffling until we got him on the DL. It's kind of like Dylan (Bundy) and different guys, when you're not thinking about physically pitching and recovery between starts, it allows you to really concentrate on things that you normally do. Just kind of got into a real rhythm that for the first time he's been able to get into a mental rhythm and a physical rhythm."

Too bad he couldn't get a win tonight.

"I felt good," Gallardo said. "I was able to command all my pitches. From the first inning on, I was just mixing everything up and keeping the ball down, keeping the ball down in the zone and the changeup to Alonso and the ball to (Marcus) Semien right before that. Things like that are going to happen. I was able to give up just that one run and give the guys an opportunity to come back and swing the bat."

Swinging's not the issue. It's scoring runs.

"This game is tough," Gallardo said. "Sometimes, you go through stretches like that throughout the year. For us as a team in general, we're working hard. We're doing everything we can.

"Throughout the year, the guys have been doing a great job, our offense just swinging the bats. It's just one of those stretches that we're going through right now, but you can't worry about today. It's just one of those things where things didn't go our way and you've got to come back and keep doing it tomorrow."

The timing is painful, with the rotation going good and the bats disappearing.

"Things like that are going to happen," Gallardo said. "You've got to look at their pitchers. They made some pretty good pitches on us. It's one of those things that no matter who's up there on the mound or who you're facing as far as us, it's major league baseball. Things like that are going to happen.

"You see the guys and they're working hard. They're swinging the bats in the cage during BP. It's one of those things. You understand it's going to happen. You've just got to figure out a way for all of us to come together and come out of it."