Orioles offense stays on sabbatical in 2-0 loss (with quotes)

No team in the majors has scored fewer runs than the Orioles. They needed eight more before tonight to catch the team ahead of them, the Marlins, their opponent for a weekend series at Camden Yards.

The only fireworks were coming after the game. And there isn't enough smoke to mask the Orioles' primary weakness.

The Marlins manufactured a run off Kevin Gausman in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie, padded their lead in the sixth and handed the Orioles their eighth loss in a row, 2-0, before an announced floppy hat crowd of 23,968.

Corban Joseph broke a string of nine consecutive Orioles retired by José Ureña with a leadoff single in the fourth inning. Ureña was 1-8 with a 4.59 ERA in 14 starts, but he faced the minimum number of batters through 5 2/3 innings before hitting Chance Sisco. He hadn't tossed eight or more scoreless innings in 45 starts dating back to September 2016.

The bats refuse to heat up, no matter how the hitters are aligned or which players are benched. They managed only three hits, including Adam Jones' bunt single.

The Orioles have dropped 15 of their last 17 games, are 19-49 overall and would match the 1988 team's record with a loss Saturday afternoon. They've lost their last 10 home games, the most recent win coming on May 13.

The eight losses in a row are the most since a nine-game streak that ended on July 15, 2011. They haven't been 30 games under .500 since Sept. 12, 2011.

Kyle Barraclough put up a donut in the ninth inning tonight and the Marlins improved their road record to 13-22.

Joseph had the only hit off Ureña before Jones laid down his bunt leading off the seventh and Manny Machado followed with a single into left field. Danny Valencia grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and Trey Mancini struck out.

Jonathan Schoop led off the eighth with a walk. Nothing more to see.

The shutout count has risen to eight for the Orioles, which isn't good when you're talking about the offense. They're been held to one run or fewer in 21 games.

Gausman was charged with two runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings, with three walks and seven strikeouts. He ran up his pitch count early, throwing 22 in the first while walking the first two batters and escaping a jam, and 27 in the second while stranding two more runners following Lewis Brinson's one-out triple and a walk.

The next escape involved a called third strike on JB Shuck with a 95 mph fastball and a fly ball to left field. Gausman retired the side in order in the next two innings and nearly wiggled out of another jam in the fifth after Miguel Rojas' leadoff double and a passed ball.

Gausman fielded consecutive comebackers, but Brian Anderson's ground ball scooted under Valencia's glove for an RBI single. Gausman retired the first two batters in the sixth, but JT Riddle singled and scored on Brinson's second triple of the night.

Rojas was hit on the left hand and walked to the dugout. Manager Buck Showalter walked onto the field and brought in Tanner Scott.

Zach Britton made his second appearance of the season and retired the side in order in the eighth with two strikeouts and a broken-bat grounder. He threw 13 pitches, nine for strikes.

The bullpen tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings behind Gausman, but a one-run lead was insurmountable. Two runs were piling on.

Note: Tim Beckham started at third base tonight at Double-A Bowie and went 0-for-2 with a walk and run scored in his first rehab game.

Showalter on snowballing losses: "As you can imagine, it's tough. There's a lot of positive things being said before the game, and it just seems when we get into the game we get back to making, getting in that same situation we've been in many times. We've got to do something. We've tried a number of things and will continue to try them. It's just, it can never be Groundhog Day.

"It's going to take more than just one game. We've had a couple of games when we scored a bunch of runs and think it's going to take off. I think everybody's tired of giving credit to the other pitcher. That's certainly the case at this level, but we have guys capable of doing a lot better than we have.

"But as far as in the dugout and in the clubhouse, there's frustration, I'll tell you that. But there's two ways you take frustration and we haven't been able to take that frustration and put it into some other funnel, so to speak."

Showalter on Gausman: "Kevin gave us a really good chance to win. The first inning kind of started a little bit (poorly). I'm sure he'd like to take back some of the 0-2 hits he gave up. But two runs. I can't fault him for that. It just gets magnified ... any runs our pitchers give up because we're struggling so much to score runs. But, no, Kevin was pretty solid.

"Had to go deep to get out of some situations. He created some with the walks, but that's usually a game that you'd like to think you have a good chance to win."

Showalter on Ureña: "Just what we talked about in the advanced meeting. Two-seam the ball in, changeup, breaking ball, both sides of the plate. Good late life. Sometimes you can use an excuse of some pitchers that guys haven't seen before. But that rings kind of hollow right now. We've been struggling against everybody it seems like. It's exactly what we thought he was going to do, he just did it well."

Showalter on having a shot in the seventh: "We hoped. Their shortstop made a really nice play. The way things are going sometimes that ball sneaks through the infield and we have potentially a bigger inning. Not a big inning, but a bigger inning, He made a nice play. Kind of tough with the shift, but they handled it well.

"That was a good opportunity for us. Danny's been swinging the bat pretty well comparatively speaking to everybody else. We've got some people that we know are capable of a lot better just aren't able to produce right now."

Showalter on Joseph: "You think about everything that's going through his head but this ... I had some people behind the stands yelling about getting the ball for him and everything. I think sometimes we forget he's been in the big leagues before. He's 29, it's still a big moment for him.

"I tried to stay away from him today. I saw some of the things he did well there. It's emotional I'm sure, trying to keep things in check. He worked very hard to get back and get this opportunity again.

"Take a lot of satisfaction looking at a guy like that, grinding it out at every stop and having people tell him he couldn't do something and he did it. He had a nice reward for it by being called up there. I just hope things settle down for him the next couple days and he can show us more of what he's capable of doing. He's got a feel for the strike zone, can put the ball in play."

Gausman on pitch count early eliminating a deep start: "I just kind of told myself to give it all I've got for as long as I could. Some of those games kind of happen like that. I was fortunate to make some good pitches and get out of those situations, but too many pitches too early."

Gausman on whether struggling offense makes it harder to pitch: "You know, it's just about trying to grind out there. He obviously pitched a good game and I felt like we had a pitcher's duel going there for a while. He's got really good stuff over there. A guy who throws that hard and has sink and he's throwing 93 mph changeups, he was tough. But it's baseball. It's going to happen."

Joseph on hoping single would ignite offense: "Yeah, absolutely. Every time you get to the plate, I think everyone in his locker room, you're trying to contribute and just do something positive whether it's moving a runner, laying a bunt down with a man on base, just trying to spark something. Whenever I step in, that's what I try and do."

Joseph on whether it felt like his first game: "It was exciting, adrenaline's still there. It was something I'll always remember, for sure. Different ballpark, I never played here in Baltimore, so something I'll cherish forever."