Orioles risk spoiling Gausman in 13-5 win (with quotes)

Kevin Gausman received 12 runs tonight. Hyun Soo Kim hit a triple. The game was delayed while unicorns unrolled the tarp in anticipation of rain.

Only two of these statements are true. Take your time.

(It should have been obvious that head groundskeeper Nicole McFadyen never would allow unicorns on her field and certainly not with the radar showing clear skies.)

Mark Trumbo hit a three-run homer off Astros rookie Joe Musgrove in the first inning, J.J. Hardy homered twice, Manny Machado and Chris Davis went back-to-back in the sixth, and Davis launched another one in the eighth in a 13-5 Orioles victory at Camden Yards.

Hardy's second homer also came in the sixth inning. Machado deposited a three-run shot into the Orioles bullpen and Davis followed with his second Eutaw Street homer in two nights and the 10th of his career. The Orioles account for 39 of the 87 hit at Camden Yards.

Astros reliever James Hoyt replaced Musgrove after the second Hardy home run. Adam Jones and Kim singled, Machado homered and catcher Jason Castro walked to the mound.

He must have said, "Well, as long as you're giving up home runs ..."

Davis crushed another one, and he took infielder Tyler White deep in the eighth - you read that correctly - to hike his season total to 27 and illustrate why manager Buck Showalter keeps him in the lineup. Three home runs in two nights. This could happen at any time.

Gausman allowed four earned runs (five total) and struck out eight batters in 6 2/3 innings, and the Orioles moved back into a second-place tie in the American League East, trailing the idle Blue Jays by 1 1/2 games. The season isn't over and the Orioles aren't sellers.

Mychal Givens retired all four batters he faced and left-hander Donnie Hart retired the side in order in the ninth, as the Orioles improved to 67-53 overall and 40-19 at home.

Trumbo has a career-high 35 home runs. Hardy has 101 home runs as an Oriole, allowing him to pass Miguel Tejada (99) for sole possession of second place on the club's all-time shortstop list. Someone named Cal Ripken Jr. is first with 345.

Kim singled in the first, second and sixth innings, and he legged out a triple in the fourth for his first major league four-hit game. But Gausman needed the oxygen after the Orioles broke out the scorching bats. His run support average was only 3.52.

Teammates offered a collective "I'm sorry" tonight.

That's about it, other than Nolan Reimold pinch-hitting for Adam Jones in the seventh inning and replacing him in center field. Reimold lined a single into left-center.

Showalter cleared his bench in the top of the ninth.

I'll attach Showalter's quotes to this entry, so stay close. Well, not that close. It's another hot and sticky night.

Here's a sampling from Showalter:

On Hardy: "J's been solid for a while now and it's a byproduct, I think, of being healthy. It's a reminder of what he can do and has done for us here."

On whether we tend to forget about his power: "No, we all know it's there. I think it's just a reminder it's just a health issue with him, and I don't think people realize how much legs mean to a hitter. So many things. I marvel at how these guys are able to perform as well as they do with the challenges they face in the sport. There are just so many things between the travel and the games and the weather and ...

"J's been good. The great thing about him is he's such a contributor through thick and thin in a lot of other phases of the game. It's meant a lot to I think Jonathan (Schoop) and Manny. I think it's really helped their progress."

On offense breaking out for 18 hits and six home runs: "That was a byproduct of a lot of good at-bats, a lot of counts. It's one night, but I think there was a lot of frustration there. I don't know if frustration is the right word, but get back to what we're capable of doing. (Musgrove) has been pitching real well. Tonight, he had some command problems with the breaking ball, left some where he wasn't trying to get them and our guys, seems like a while now, we weren't getting many mistakes and when we were, we weren't as consistent with making them pay as we were tonight."

On Gausman finally getting support: "Get support? Gausman's always had support. He may not always have runs scored, but he's got support every day. It's a question for him. The players and people that are constantly in the arena, they don't look at it that way. It is what it is. You control what you can control. You pitch as well as you can pitch.

"Kevin after his last outing had 90-some pitches in four innings. I felt like he was going to come out really engaged in the competition. Not that he isn't all the time."

On whether Jones was just being rested: "Yeah, everybody in there is dinged up, banged up, soreness in places. One last at-bat. Trying to get Matt (Wieters) out from behind the plate and J.J. off the field. What does one inning mean? You have to be able to compare it to what would have happened if they played and we don't know that now. Seemed like the right thing to do."

On importance of Davis getting hot down the stretch: "We pride ourselves on not saying if we lose this we're not going to be able to survive. If you look at '13, Steve Pearce was our first baseman and Ryan Flaherty was our third baseman. So we pride ourselves on that. If you start thinking the sky is falling if one person isn't there ...

"Obviously, we know what that could mean. But the weight of the Orioles is not around Chris' shoulders. A lot of things will have to go well. Certainly it will help our chances. But we can still be the last team standing if it doesn't happen."