Orioles trying to stay on the right side of .500

KANSAS CITY - The Orioles haven't sunk below .500 since July 26. Can they avoid taking another dip tonight?

Can they pitch better? Can their offense unload instead of scoring three runs or fewer, as it's done in six of the last seven games? Can they avoid costly mistakes in the field?

The errors suddenly are piling up. They began last night with 52, only two less than the runner-up Dodgers for fewest in the majors, and Jonathan Schoop increased the total with a poor throw in the sixth inning that allowed Omar Infante to score after a two-run triple.

Leads are lost. Innings get away from them. And the distance grows between the Orioles and the second wild card.

Steve Clevenger, with a career-high eight-game hitting streak, is leaving the team for the birth of his first child. He isn't expected to return until Friday in Arlington. That's a productive bat that's going to be missed.

The Orioles will dig through Triple-A Norfolk's roster again, but they also continue to check on available players from outside the organization. They discussed outfielder Quintin Berry, who reached agreement on a minor league deal with the Cubs. They came extremely close to acquiring outfielder Will Venable from the Padres - some folks in the organization thought the deal was done - before Padres general manager A.J. Preller sent him to the Rangers for catcher/outfielder Marcus Greene and a player to be named later, who turned out to be reliever Jon Edwards.

Miguel Gonzalez is trying to get back on track after posting a 6.48 ERA in 11 starts since coming off the disabled list. He's allowed 10 runs and 14 hits in 12 innings in his last two starts, with five walks and 10 strikeouts, and 22 runs and 36 hits in 25 1/3 innings in his last five outings.

Gonzalez was 7-6 with a 4.24 ERA in 16 starts in the first half. He's 2-3 with a 5.92 ERA in seven starts in the second half. He's 3-4 with a 5.15 ERA in 11 home starts and 6-5 with a 4.32 ERA in 12 road starts.

Gonzalez is 1-2 with a 4.82 ERA in three career starts against the Royals and 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in one start at Kauffman Stadium. He allowed six runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings on July 25, 2013.

I'm not including Game 4 of the 2014 American League Championship Series, when Gonzalez allowed two runs (one earned) in 5 2/3 innings.

The Royals are batting .221 (21-for-95) against Gonzalez. Jarrod Dyson is 5-for-6, Ben Zobrist is 5-for-27 with two doubles and a home run, Eric Hosmer is 2-for-11, Salvador Perez is 4-for-12 with a home run, Alcides Escobar is 3-for-10 and Mike Moustakas is 0-for-10.

Royals left-hander Danny Duffy made three relief appearances in the playoffs, but none against the Orioles. He's 1-1 with a 1.46 ERA in three games (two starts) against them, with two earned runs (three total) in 12 1/3 innings.

Adam Jones is 1-for-6 and Matt Wieters is 1-for-3 with a double. J.J. Hardy is 1-for-3 with a double, but he's on the disabled list.