Will Houston be a problem for Orioles?

A team that's lost 10 of its last 13 games also can't catch a break from the schedule.

The Orioles, fresh off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Twins, are now subjected to the Astros, another first-place team that also owned the best record in baseball heading into last night.

The memories at Minute Maid Park still can make a clubhouse cringe. The Orioles were swept last summer and set a major league record with 52 strikeouts in a three-game series.

The finale was exactly one year ago today, a 4-2 loss, with every member of the starting lineup contributing at least one strikeout. Chris Davis and Jonathan Schoop each had three of them to account for six of the 15.

Orioles batters struck out 19 times in the opener, a 3-2 loss that took 13 innings to complete. Davis, Mark Trumbo and Pedro Álvarez combined for nine and every player with an at-bat contributed to the total.

Another one-run loss followed the next night, though it didn't extend beyond regulation. Houston pitchers notched 18 strikeouts, getting Trumbo, Álvarez and Adam Jones three times each.

Hyun Soo Kim, batting ninth, was the only starter who didn't strike out. He went 3-for-3 with a walk.

The Orioles will try to bury that memory and a four-game losing streak that's put them 2 1/2 out of first place in the American League East.

They're probably glad to get past the Central Division competition, with the Royals and Twins sweeping them in three-game series and the Tigers winning two of three. Their three-game sweep of the White Sox at Camden Yards seems ages ago.

The Astros went 6-1 against the Orioles last season, also taking three of four in Baltimore. Schoop batted .310 (9-for-29) with a double and home run against them.

Kevin Gausman offered encouragement in his last start. Though he scattered 10 hits - tying his career high - over six innings against the Blue Jays, he allowed only two runs for his third quality start and lowered his ERA from 7.19 to 6.65.

The lowering part has been a process.

Gausman held the Nationals to two runs over seven innings on May 8, his ERA dropping from 7.55 to 6.63. In his next outing, he couldn't hold a five-run lead in Kansas City - allowing five of his own along with nine hits in 3 1/3 innings - and his ERA jumped to 7.19.

Opponents are batting .328 against Gausman this season. He's toting a 1.86 WHIP in 47 1/3 innings.

Right-handers are hitting .388 against Gausman and left-handers are hitting .247. Last season, right-handers hit .288 and lefties hit .232. In 2015, right-handers hit .278 and lefties hit .227. For his career, right-handers are hitting .294 and lefties are hitting .241.

It's official: He's a reverse-splits guy.

Gausman is 1-1 with a 6.17 ERA in two career starts against the Astros, with eight earned runs (nine total) and 12 hits in 11 2/3 innings. He's walked two batters, struck out 15 and surrendered five home runs.

In his only start at Minute Maid Park, Gausman allowed four runs and five hits in five innings in a 4-2 loss on May 26, 2016, the game that sealed the dubious strikeout record. George Springer homered twice off Gausman and Luis Valbuena also took him deep.

Springer is 3-for-7 lifetime against Gausman. Carlos Betran is 5-for-15 with two doubles.

The Astros' 3.46 staff ERA ranked first in the American League last night, and third in the majors.

Manny Machado's average is down to .218, the second-lowest on the club. J.J. Hardy is batting .201.

Machado is 2-for-14 in his last four games and 4-for-27 in his last seven.