Orioles lose game and more ground (with quotes)

On a night that they lost another game and more ground in the American League East, the Orioles were left to grasp at the sentimental.

Trey Mancini's first major league hit also was his first home run, truly the one highlight for the Orioles in a 5-2 loss to the Red Sox before 20,387 at Camden Yards.

The rest was too disturbing.

Kevin Gausman allowed two home runs, including David Ortiz's three-run shot in the seventh inning. He departed shortly after the ball landed, Ortiz admiring his work as manager Buck Showalter popped out of the dugout.

Gausman was charged with five runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings, with one walk and five strikeouts. Jackie Bradley Jr. had a solo shot in the fourth.

The 10 hits tied Gausman's career high set on May 15 against the Tigers. Mookie Betts had three of them tonight.

Ortiz's 36th home run came on Gausman's 101st pitch of the night. Tommy Hunter replaced him.

No sign of rookie left-hander Donnie Hart, who retired Ortiz in a crucial at-bat at Fenway Park. Hart faced Ortiz tonight with the bases empty and two outs in the top of the ninth inning and retired him on a grounder to first.

Gausman hadn't allowed a run in four of his last five starts. He was the guy that the Orioles wanted on the mound tonight.

The loss leaves the Orioles 82-69 overall, and they can only achieve a split of this crucial four-game series. They're a season-high five games out of first place and, at the moment, holding the second wild card spot while the Blue Jays play in Seattle.

The Tigers are winning big and can move within one game of the Orioles in the loss column.

The Orioles have scored two runs in four straight games.

Mancini broke up Eduardo Rodriguez's no-hitter with two outs in the fifth inning, deciding it was an ideal time to launch a 434-foot fly ball into the visiting bullpen. Statcast also listed the exit velocity at 111 mph.

MASN cameras showed Mancini's mother, Beth, holding her hands to her face in disbelief, at one point saying "I can't believe it" and hugging everyone around her.

Mancini watched the replay of his home run and her reaction between innings on the video board. Backup catcher Francisco Pena stood beside him smiling. Mancini's expression never changed.

The kid is stoic.

Spoiler alert: Someone retrieved the ball and handed it to Beth. Mom gets a souvenir, eliminating one postgame question for Mancini.

The Orioles didn't subject Mancini to the silent treatment. Manny Machado came out of the dugout and almost tore off Mancini's hand while slapping it. Everyone congratulated him, and fans demanded a curtain call that was accepted.

Mancini came to the top step and raised his helmet. The ovation grew louder.

Mancini is the third Oriole to homer in his major league debut, joining Larry Haney in 1966 and Jonathan Schoop in 2013. The last Oriole to homer for his first hit was Nick Markakis in 2006.

In Mancini's first at-bat, he led off the third inning by taking a pitch outside the strike zone for a ball and flying to right field. By the fifth inning, he had one more RBI than Caleb Joseph, as a few fans pointed out.

(Had to go there.)

The Orioles reduced the lead to 5-2 in the seventh on another infield hit for J.J. Hardy that scored Jonathan Schoop, who led off with a double. Matt Barnes had replaced Rodriguez after Matt Wieters lined out, and he retired Mancini on a ground ball to first.

Hardy followed with his 46th RBI of the season. He has eight multi-hit games this month, three in his last five games and four in his last seven.

Rodriguez was charged with two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Brad Ziegler replaced Barnes and retired Adam Jones on a fly ball to the center field warning track. Jones carried the bat to first base and slammed it to the ground.

Here's Showalter:

On Gausman: "Pretty good, pretty good. Paid for the one mistake to Ortiz, to their designated hitter, but other than that ... Kind of similar to Dylan's outing the other night. Close. Betts threw in a couple there and he worked through some situations. They're pitching real well and we haven't swung the bats real well."

On not using Hart in the seventh: "Gaus has pitched him well and felt like he could get him out. There's a decision there you can go back and 'what if, what if, what if?' I understand it. Gaus presented himself well. Same reason why we stuck with him in that situation before. Both of them can get him out and he just didn't get the ball where he needed to get it."

On Mancini's home run: "Yeah, you take that in. Lucky to see him. Hopefully, it's going to be the first of a lot of good moments for the young man. It was a big night for him and his family and for the team, too. They've all been there at some point. Showed himself well. Proud of him. That was a big moment for him."

On being five games back with 11 to play: "It's just math. We know how many opportunities there are and there's still an opportunity for us. They're a good team, like all the teams are at this level, but especially a team having as good of a year as they are. It's one thing to want to do it, as much as our guys want to, but you get a couple pitching performances against us like we've had the last two nights, it's a challenge.

On scoring two runs or fewer in six of nine games: "You go through periods. Right now, when you're not swinging the bats well it plays into a lot of different things for a pitcher. Not having that margin of error. This is a club that has given our pitching staff a lot of leeway and done a lot of great things for us and I have confidence the last 11 games they will again. But the other pitcher has to cooperate a little bit."