Orioles blown out 9-2 in series opener (with quotes)

KANSAS CITY - Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins hit the second pitch of the game tonight for a home run. But the O's did little on offense after that. On the mound, right-hander Andrew Cashner allowed four runs over 5 1/3 innings and the bullpen gave up five as Kansas City beat the Orioles 9-2 at Kauffman Stadium. It was the first of a three-game weekend series.

With this result, the gap between the two teams with the worst records in the majors widened to 3 1/2 games. The Orioles are on the bottom at 40-95 and K.C. is at 43-91 after winning for the fifth time in six games.

Cashner, who had recorded nine quality starts in the last 14 games, allowed nine hits with three walks, one strikeout and two homers. He threw 98 pitches and falls to 4-13 with an ERA of 4.86. The Orioles are 8-18 in his 2018 starts.

Rookie right-hander Brad Keller held down an Orioles offense that produced 29 runs on 41 hits in a three-game home sweep of Toronto. Keller went eight innings, allowing four hits and two runs on 114 pitches to improve to 7-5 with an ERA of 3.26.

He was taken last December in the Rule 5 draft from Arizona by Cincinnati and then traded to Kansas City. He pitched so well after starting the year in the bullpen that he moved into the Royals rotation on May 30. The Orioles got a look tonight at how good he's been for the Royals.

But Mullins got to him to start this game drilling an 0-1 fastball 412 feet to right-center for his third homer and first career leadoff homer. K.C. tied it in the home first. Whit Merrifield doubled, went to third on Alex Gordon's single and scored on a double play grounder.

The Royals added one in the fourth when Brian Goodwin drew a leadoff walk and later scored on Merrifield's sac fly. When Hunter Dozier hit a leadoff homer in the fifth, his eighth, K.C. led 3-1. The O's pulled within 3-2 in the sixth. Mullins hit a high chopper over the head of the third baseman for a double. One out later, he scored on Trey Mancini's fly ball to deep right for a sac fly and his 49th RBI.

But the game got away from Cashner and the Orioles in the last of the sixth when the Royals scored three to lead 6-2. No. 9 hitter catcher Cam Gallagher homered just inside the left field foul pole. That gave K.C. a two-run lead and ended Cashner's outing.

Right-hander Yefry Ramírez came on and gave up two singles around a popup and then uncorked a wild pitch to put runners on second and third. That would prove costly when cleanup hitter Ryan O'Hearn hit a grounder to left to score both runners and make it 6-2.

O'Hearn hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Ryan Meisinger for a four-RBI night. K.C. scored three off the right-hander for the final 9-2 margin.

The O's offense was retired in order four times. While Mullins had two hits, the rest of the lineup had two, going 2-for-26 with a pair of singles.

The Orioles have lost nine of 12 and 16 of their last 21 games. They are 16-51 away from Oriole Park and they are 5-11 at Kauffman Stadium since the 2013 season.

In the second game of this three-game series on Saturday night, right-hander Dylan Bundy (7-13, 5.37) faces righty Heath Fillmyer (2-1, 4.21 ERA).

Postgame quotes:

Manager Buck Showalter on Cashner's outing: "He was having trouble gripping the breaking ball. He never really got a feel for it. He threw a couple and it's just hard to go through that many hitters, especially left-handed, without a feel for a breaking ball. But if you look at the body of work, the last home run is the one that will really stick with him. He could have come out of that with three runs and not being able to do the things he normally does."

Showalter on Mullins on offense and defense: "You can tell his legs were feeling good. Let's see how they feel tomorrow, as much as he ran around tonight. That game would have been out of hand if he hadn't made some of the plays he made tonight. He was a real bright spot. You can tell when he goes up there, he's got a plan, he doesn't get out of it. Doesn't seem to let a whole lot bother him. There's a certain calmness to his game. And a certain quiet confidence. It's almost an unassuming speed, too. If anybody wants to know why he has so many triples, on the home run he was rounding second when they finally called it."

Cashner said he had a pretty brutal night: "Not much (was working). That was probably some of the worst stuff I've carried in a game. My sinker was not there tonight. Off-speed pitches were not there. I didn't really command anything for a strike, didn't get ahead of guys. I think for me, the biggest thing is commanding my sinker. The ball wasn't sinking that much and I didn't command it."

Mullins on returning to the lineup with two hits, including a homer: "It was just a matter of seeing the pitch and putting a good swing on it. I was just seeing the ball well. He was trying to work with both sides of the plate and I was just looking for a certain pitch."

Mullins on having a good night when the team did not: "It's just a matter of the team and the grind. It's been a long season. To come in and have the immediate success I'm having, it's just big, but I'm always playing for the win."