Orioles continue historical run with 5-1 loss (with quotes)

Kevin Gausman was striking out batters and putting up zeros tonight, the fog lifting from him on a night that another game was delayed at the start by rain. The only storm clouds that returned were the kind that come with scattered runs.

The tarp was rolled. Gausman was rolling. And then the Indians got to him in the fifth.

Gausman struck out the first batter and allowed four straight hits, including Roberto Pérez's RBI double to break a scoreless tie and Francisco Lindor's two-run homer that carried the Indians to a 5-1 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 26,596 at Camden Yards.

A game was lost, as well as an entire night.

The Orioles came within two outs of holding an opponent under five runs for the first time in 18 games to snap a streak that tied them for the longest in American League history and left them three shy of the major league mark. But Miguel Castro surrendered five straight hits to let two runs score and load the bases.

Alec Asher replaced Castro with the Orioles behind 5-0, extending the streak to 18 games. The 1924 Phillies have champagne on ice if they can hold onto their record of 20. They're a grizzled bunch.

(Had the Orioles kept the Indians below five, I was going to say that the streak died tonight of natural Gausman. It didn't quite work, but close enough.)

The Orioles fell below .500 again at 35-36. They're now 24-13 at home and 6-13 versus the American League Central.

Jonathan Schoop's double off reliever Dan Otero with one out in the ninth inning scored Trey Mancini, who collected his third hit, and prevented the Orioles from being shut out for the second time in three games.

Gausman came within an out of a quality start, allowing three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out a season-high nine batters.

Donnie Hart replaced Gausman, who threw 112 pitches, and stranded a runner by fielding a comebacker from Bradley Zimmer. Hart threw a career-high 2 1/3 innings and retired seven of the eight batters he faced.

The Orioles have two quality starts in their last 15 games.

Though Gausman retired Lindor to start the game, he needed eight pitches to do it. The red flag was unfurled in a hurry. But he struck out Jason Kipnis and José Ramírez and got back to the dugout at 18 pitches.

Gausman retired seven of the next eight batters, but he began the fourth by walking Kipnis and allowing a single to Ramírez. Unable to prevent previous jams from spreading like wildfire, Gausman struck out Edwin Encarnacion and induced a fly ball and ground ball to keep the game scoreless.

This wasn't damage control, it was regaining control.

Gausman became the first Orioles starter to shut out an opponent through the first four innings since Dylan Bundy on May 23 versus the Twins, a span of 26 games. A stat courtesy of WJZ's Mark Viviano.

Gausman kept going to his splitter and getting results, with the pitch accounting for five strikeouts in four innings. Austin Jackson struck out on a slider to lead off the fifth, but Zimmer singled and scored on Pérez's double and Lindor followed with his home run to center field.

In the blink of an eye, the Orioles were down 3-0 against Carlos Carrasco.

Kipnis singled and stole second base without a throw, but Gausman struck out Ramírez and Encarnacion on 97 and 98 mph fastballs, respectively.

Pérez's double came on a 1-2 fastball. Lindor homered on a 2-2 fastball.

Heaters down the middle of the plate, especially while ahead in the count, continue to hurt Gausman. Center-cuts like a knife.

The Orioles loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh inning on singles by Mark Trumbo, Mancini and Schoop. Left-hander Andrew Miller replaced Carrasco and stranded three runners by getting pinch-hitter Joey Rickard to ground into a force at home and striking out Caleb Joseph and pinch-hitter Rubén Tejada.

Joseph and shortstops Tejada and Paul Janish were a combined 0-for-8 with five strikeouts. Joseph reached on an error with two outs in the ninth, but Bryan Shaw replaced Otero and retired Tejada on a weak grounder to second.

Update: Showalter is leaving the team on Thursday and flying to Dallas for the birth of his grandson. Bench coach John Russell will manage the team and Showalter will rejoin it in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Showalter on whether he was encouraged by Gausman: "Kevin was good. There wasn't much margin for error with Carrasco. He's having another good year. I think that's what a lot of people miss about them is, as good as an offensive club and a defensive club, their pitching was good last year and will be again this year. That's why they're leading their division. Of course, Miller makes it tough down there, too. Kevin was good, though. I thought his command was better. He had a better ... I don't know. It just looked like he was getting down the mound more confident. That's a good-hitting club, too, that he gave us a chance, especially the first four innings."

On Gausman recovering to end fifth: "Yeah, he didn't let it get away from him. We had a shot there with the bases loaded, but Miller made that not matter. He's been doing that for a while. We got to see it from both sides of the dugout. But I was encouraged by Kevin's outing tonight."

On Hart: "Donnie Hart pitched real well in a time of need. We were short down there again and we knew Donnie could pitch a couple innings. I would have taken that to get through. Of course, a left-hander matches up pretty good there if you can do some things with the baseball."

More on Hart: "I know the first thing he'll say tonight or tomorrow is walking (Lonnie) Chisenhall. Not that he's not a good hitter, but if he gets a base hit he gets a base hit. Be picky there. He faced right, left, switch. I thought his command was better. I talked to him some about the changeup. He'd gotten into a pure breaking ball pitcher. He got here with fastball command and a good changeup. He had kind of gotten away from that a little bit.

"The success he had last year, it's hard to go into it and make a lot of changes. Some of the things we thought would be there appeared this year."

On not using Welington Castillo: "He needed a day off. I wasn't going to broadcast it. Especially going in to catch. Might have taken a shot at him with (Craig) Gentry there, but not when he had to go in and catch. Hopefully, he'll be ready for John tomorrow. John is managing tomorrow."