Saturday, June 7, 2014

Kevin Gausman goes 7 innings, strikes out 6 to lead Orioles past Athletics

Final
Series: Game 2 of 3

Athletics 3

(38-24, 21-12 away)

Orioles 6

(31-29, 12-13 home)




7:15 PM ET, June 7, 2014
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland 

123456789 R H E
OAK 001000020 3 7 0
BAL 10003200- 6 7 1
W: K. Gausman (1-1)
L: S. Gray (6-2)
Associated Press
Orioles Dispatch Athletics
Adam Jones drove in two runs as the Orioles defeated the Athletics 6-3.Tags: Orioles, Athletics, Highlights
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles have confidence that Kevin Gausman eventually will emerge as a top-of-the-rotation starter.
On Saturday, they saw a glimpse of that ability against Oakland.Gausman earned his first win as a starter while Adam Jones and David Lough each homered, leading the Orioles over the Athletics, 6-3.Called up from Triple-A Norfolk earlier in the day, Gausman (1-1) set career highs by pitching seven innings and striking out six.Gausman, the fourth overall pick in the 2012 draft, gave up one run and four hits and walked one. He had made six previous starts in the majors over two seasons."It's always huge when you get a win, especially against a team like the A's," Gausman said. "They're playing great baseball right now. It's been a fun serious to watch so far. Hopefully, we can win the series tomorrow."Jones hit his ninth homer, a solo shot in the first. Lough, who entered the game batting just .184, hit his second homer. Still, Jones said the difference in the game was how Gausman contained Oakland's powerful lineup."He's getting the opportunity," Jones said. "This game is all about confidence. It's not about necessarily about stuff. Your stuff will get you here, but your confidence."Now he's going to get his shot to start. I told him, `Hey, go after him. Use your stuff. You've got a good arm for a reason, so use your stuff and go after them.' "Sonny Gray (6-2) allowed a season-high five runs and four hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings, his shortest outing of the year."I felt really good there early in the game, then it was like four or five hitters, and the game just kind of blew up on me right there," Gray said."I just went out and started throwing balls, and I don't know why. I got behind a lot of hitters that inning, and it was just too many balls, then that one big hit."Coco Crisp got three hits for Oakland. He connected in the third for his fourth home run, and extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games.It was 1-all before Baltimore scored three times in the fifth to give Gausman a cushion. Lough drew a one-out walk and Caleb Joseph followed with a double, setting up RBI singles by Nick Markakis and Manny Machado.The A's threatened in the sixth when Alberto Callaspo and Eric Sogard led off with singles and advanced on a wild pitch. Gausman escaped by striking out Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss."Kevin was good, really good," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Got his feet on the ground. I thought Caleb and him worked real well together. I wanted Caleb catching him today. He had caught him, obviously, in Norfolk."Good split, got enough breaking balls over to show a third pitch, established the inner half of the plate. He's got pretty good stuff. He got in a couple situations and went and got another level, which was good to see."After a walk to J.J. Hardy ended Gray's night, former Orioles closer Jim Johnson entered and allowed a two-run homer to Lough on his second pitch that extended Baltimore's lead 6-1. Johnson got only two outs, allowing two hits.The A's pulled within 6-3 in the eighth when Brian Matusz allowed a walk to Sogard and a double to Crisp. Darren O'Day entered and gave up a two-run single to Kyle Blanks."He pitched pretty well," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said about Gausman. "He hit 99 (miles per hour), and he started mixing it up and pitching a little differently. His two-seamer was significantly different from his four-seamer, in terms of velocity and movement. Then he started throwing his slider for a strike and putting away some splits."

Game notes


Orioles RHP Miguel Gonzalez (strained right oblique) will throw a bullpen session Sunday or Monday and then could possibly begin a rehab start later in the week. ... Baltimore optioned LHP Tim Berry to Double-A Bowie to make room for Gausman. ... Oakland has homered in 15 consecutive games, eight games shy of the club record. . ... Oakland LHP Scott Kazmir (6-2, 2.40 ERA) faces Orioles' RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (2-6, 4.39) in the series finale. ... Johnson faced his former team for the first time and drew a mixed reaction from the sold-out crowd.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press





Game Information

StadiumOriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
Attendance44,202 (96.2% full) - % is based on regular season capacity
Game Time2:51
Weather79 degrees, clear
Wind7 mph
UmpiresHome Plate - Angel Hernandez, First Base - Adrian Johnson, Second Base - Gabe Morales, Third Base - Larry Vanover

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