Orioles must regroup after discouraging loss to Houston

A night after the Orioles produced an impressive win, scoring 13 runs and hitting six homers, they gave up a season-high 15 runs and lost big to Houston.

At least the Orioles can say they have outscored the Astros 21-20 in this series. They've hit 11 home runs in two games with one win to show for it.

Last night they became the first team since 1900 to homer four times before making one out, according to STATS, LLC. They became the first team this year to have produced four homers in two innings. They did that in the first inning last night and the seventh inning on April 15 at Texas.

But Wade Miley gave a 5-1 lead back in the top of the second. The good vibe from the four-homer first inning lasted about five minutes. O's pitchers got battered for 15 runs and 18 hits and O's pitching again is a concern - if there was ever a time when it wasn't. One day it seems a lack of runs is the issue. The next, giving up too many is a problem.

Maybe that is why the Orioles have lost eight of 13 games, 14 of 23 and are 16-18 in the second half. The O's are now even beatable at Camden Yards, where they are 1-3 on this homestand and 3-6 in their last nine games.

Yes, it is all concerning and the club's list of doubters seems to grow larger by the day. But on the other hand, they are just 1 1/2 games out of first place. Plenty of time left to start trending in a better direction. They just to have to do it now.

More notes on the Orioles:

* The Birds have hit 11 homers in two games, 30 in the past 15 games and 34 in the last 17.

* After a run of seven straight quality starts from Aug. 5-11 with a rotation ERA of 2.93, now the Orioles have gone seven straight games without one quality start. In this latest stretch, the starters have allowed 27 earned runs over 31 2/3 innings for an ERA of 7.67.

* O's hitters have scored 21 runs in this series and 49 runs the last eight games. O's pitchers have allowed 20 runs in this series and 46 runs the past six games.

* Over his last three games, Chris Davis is 4-for-11 with four homers. Over his past nine games, he is 10-for-31 with five homers and five RBIs. Davis has homered in three consecutive games for the third time this year and for the ninth time in his career.

* Adam Jones hit his fourth career leadoff homer last night, all coming this year. He has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games, batting .345/.359/.534 (20-for-58) with three homers and nine RBIs.

* In the first inning last night, the Orioles hit homers that went a combined 1,631 feet, according to Statcast. Jones hit one 369 feet, Manny Machado 415 feet, Davis 446 feet and Mark Trumbo 401 feet.