Showalter speaks after 15-2 loss

The Orioles endured a 2 hour, 31 minute rain delay tonight that seemed pleasant compared to the 15 runs they allowed to the Twins.

They hadn't surrendered that many runs since a 19-7 loss in Minnesota on July 16, 2012.

Miguel Gonzalez was charged with seven of the runs tonight over five innings in a 15-2 loss before 20,109 at Camden Yards. His ERA is 6.48 in 11 starts since coming off the disabled list.

The Twins batted around in the second inning and scored five runs to take a lead that the Orioles never really threatened. They put runners on second and third with no outs in the bottom half and failed to score, as rookie Tyler Duffey retired 12 in a row.

"(Gonzalez) was pretty crisp the first inning," said manager Buck Showalter, whose team is 0-4 against the Twins this season and has been outscored 32-10.

"I thought he was getting ready to run off a pretty good game, and then he gives up a walk, a broken-bat single to right and a swinging bunt and he couldn't stem the tide there. But at 5-0 we had second and third and nobody out, and if we could have pushed those two across you've got a whole different dynamic to the game, but we didn't.

"On the positive side, he got through five somehow and very close to having it the only inning that he gave something up on, but it didn't work out that way. But we got through it with Jason (Garcia) and Mac (T.J. McFarland)."

Gonzalez got ahead of hitters in the second, but he couldn't put them away - a common theme among Orioles pitchers this season. Somehow, 0-2 counts don't work in their favor.

"His command got away from him," Showalter said. "He was wild in the strike zone and you do it against any major league team, you're going to pay a price. He got some things in his favor and he just couldn't finish them off.

"We've had some challenges here where some of the counts we get in our favor, we haven't been able to use it. We end up giving up some hits in counts that we shouldn't be giving up those hard-hit balls there. Obviously, there were enough of them there to be picky to talk about the two or three that might not have been hard."

Gonzalez has allowed 22 runs in his last five starts.

"He goes through some periods, some sequences, where you're going, 'All right, there it is, here we go.' He just hasn't been able to string together any consistency that he's been so good at for us," Showalter said.

"He's got a strong constitution. Most guys wouldn't have got through five innings tonight, but he knew... That's a tribute to him. But I know Miggy, he's not happy with it at all. Chances are he'll figure it out."

Duffey, in his third major league start, carried a shutout into the eighth.

"He did exactly what we thought he was going to do, which is a real tribute to him and the quality of his curveball," Showalter said. "We knew he was going to throw a lot of them. He threw really late and works underneath the ball a lot. That type of curveball is always tough against left-handed batters if he continuously throws it in the right spot, which he did.

"That's what he did the last time out. He had a no-hitter going in the sixth or seventh inning. So we had a good feel what he was going try to do, and he did it. So hats off to him.

Showalter doesn't think the Orioles will need to bring up a fresh bullpen arm.

"We were trying to stay away from Brad (Brach)," he said. "I think we're in pretty good shape - not ideal. I haven't talked to anybody this time of night."