Wade Miley after O's loss: "I flat-out stunk"

After hearing Wade Miley's postgame interview tonight, it might be harder to judge whether he took a worse pounding on the field tonight or through the one he gave himself.

Miley certainly had a terrible outing tonight. But no one can say he was not accountable for that bad outing. He was certainly not looking for any positives or silver linings in the clubhouse after he gave up six hits and six runs over 1 2/3 innings.

Staked to a 5-1 lead when the Orioles hit four homers before making an out in the last of the first, Miley did not survive the second inning in the Orioles' 15-8 loss to the Astros. Tonight matched the shortest start of his career.

"It was terrible, you know, it's embarrassing for that to happen," Miley said. "I flat-out stunk. Simple as that. Everything I threw was middle and to a team like that, I mean, you expect them to do what they did.

"I made a lot of mistakes over the middle of the plate. Even after the strikeouts, lot of fastballs trying to get ahead and they were just middle-middle. Middle cut and those guys drove them. That game is on me, I have to set a better tempo than that. Offense picked me up in the first and scored me five. Then give it right back, that can't happen. You can't win games like that.

"You know what, I'm just not executing pitches. You are not going to get anybody out throwing fastballs right down the middle. This is the way it is."

In his second O's start, Miley allowed two runs over six innings on Aug. 9 at Oakland. But in two starts since, he has allowed 14 hits and 13 runs (12 earned) over six innings. His ERA is 9.53 in four starts with the Orioles.

"It's frustrating. It's embarrassing for me," Miley said. "Obviously, I know I'm better than this. Got to make some adjustments. Still have a month and half to go and we're right there in this thing. I have to be able to go out and give us a chance to win. That's unacceptable. I have to get better."

Miley was asked if pitching with a big early lead changed anything for him.

"No, absolutely not. I just didn't make pitches. Simple as that. I stunk," he said.

He was asked if faulty mechanics is the reason for his struggles?

"I'm not sure right now. We're going to get to tomorrow, put this behind me and get back after it tomorrow," he said.

The Orioles' four homers in the first inning were historic as Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo all connected. According to STATS, LLC, no team since 1900 had ever hit four homers before making a single out. The Orioles have hit three homers in the first innings five times, but never four before tonight. They did hit four homers on April 15 of this year in the seventh inning at Texas.

Trumbo could at least point to the offense after tonight's game as something to build on. The O's have scored 21 runs on 28 hits and hit 11 homers in two games of this series.

"Yeah, on the offensive side there are some positives for sure," Trumbo said. "We grinded out some good at-bats. Later in the game, it wasn't quite as sharp. But especially how we started, that is kind of what we're looking for. It's not ideal (to lose that big lead). That game could have gone a few different ways. Unfortunately it ended like this.

"It's going to happen throughout the course of the year. We've had a lot of good times and some not so good times. This will be one of them. But everyone in this room has dealt with it many times before. It's not easy to brush off, but we're equipped to do it."

Miley was not the only ineffective pitcher tonight. Ubaldo Jimenez gave up three runs over three innings, Tyler Wilson allowed four in two frames and Vance Worley two runs over two innings.

But Trumbo and Miley played together before, with Arizona in 2014. And he pledged to support his teammate after the loss.

"I've been through it personally, so I know what he is going through," Trumbo said. "In-season trades are extremely difficult. He is doing the best he can to get acclimated. I'm not making excuses for him, but he's probably not totally adjusted yet. And until he feels at home, it's tough to go out there. But he's going to battle and give it what he has and we're always there for him."

According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Orioles are the first team in the major leagues to have four homers in an inning twice this season. Jones hit his fourth career leadoff homer, all coming this year. Davis homered for the third consecutive game for the ninth time in his career.

O's pitchers allowed a season-high 15 runs (previous most was 13) and a season-high 18 hits (previous most was 16). The team ERA rose tonight from 4.23 to 4.32.