KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Orioles had managed a measly 15 runs while losing six straight games, and were preparing to face Johnny Cueto and the streaking Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Naturally, they pounded five homers in an explosive performance.
"It's why the people come to the games," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said after an 8-5 victory. "Because what's supposed to happen on paper doesn't always happen."
For instance, Chris Davis breaks out of an 0-for-16 slump with a double and a two-run homer. Or Manny Machado, also struggling at the plate, hits his own two-run shot. Or Jonathan Schoop hits yet another two-run homer off Cueto, who struggled for the second consecutive start.
Wei-Yin Chen (8-6) allowed three runs for the Orioles while scattering nine hits over six innings. The losing pitcher against the Royals in Game 3 of last year's AL Championship Series, he has now gone seven straight starts without a defeat.
"Every day we come here to the ballpark, all we think about is how to win today's game," Chen said through a translator. "Hopefully we can move up from here."
Cueto (9-9) labored through five innings for Kansas City, allowing 10 hits and a walk. He was coming off a career-high 13 hits in a loss to Boston.
"I'm not a robot," he said. "Just have to keep working, get ready for the next one."
Steve Pearce made it 7-3 with a solo shot in the eighth for Baltimore. Mike Moustakas kept the Royals close with a two-run homer off Brian Matusz in the bottom half of the inning, but Ryan Flaherty answered with the Orioles' fifth homer leading off the ninth.
Zach Britton got three outs for his 30th save.
The Orioles had lost eight straight to the Royals including the postseason, and appeared to be in trouble again when they failed to score with runners on the corners and nobody out in the second inning.
In the bottom half, Moustakas hit a sacrifice fly and Salvador Perez an RBI double to stake Kansas City to a 2-0 advantage that could have been more substantial. The inning ended when Omar Infante ran past Paulo Orlando on a flyout, resulting in Infante also being called out.
Moments later, the Orioles started to showcase their power.
Baltimore tied the game in the third on Machado's two-run shot, then pulled ahead in the fourth when Schoop clobbered his two-run homer an estimated 427 feet to left field.
Davis made it three straight innings with a two-run shot when he went deep in the fifth, the big first baseman's 35th home run giving Baltimore a 6-2 advantage.
Kansas City clawed back with a run in the sixth when Kendrys Morales hit an RBI single, but Chen calmly retired Moustakas and Perez to prevent more damage.
When the Orioles tacked on a couple more home runs in the final two innings, the Royals were headed to only their third loss in 15 games at Kauffman Stadium.
"You're facing the best team in the American League last year and they've added players to improve on that," Showalter said. "So it's a challenge, but we've got a chance to split against the American League champions tomorrow and move on to Texas."
STATS AND STREAKS
The five home runs allowed by the Royals matched a season high. ... Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie made his first relief appearance since June 30, 2012, when he was with the Rockies. He had been in the Kansas City rotation. ... Machado has 26 homers, the most by an Orioles third baseman since Melvin Mora hit 27 in 2005. ... Pearce's homer was his first since July 11.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: After another rough start Tuesday night, Showalter was asked whether RHP Miguel Gonzalez is fully recovered from a groin injury. "Yeah," Showalter replied. "Far as I know."
Royals: Manager Ned Yost has given reliever Ryan Madson and closer Greg Holland some rest due to sore arms, though Holland has been available the past two nights.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Chris Tillman took a tough-luck loss in his last outing against Minnesota, but is 3-0 with a 2.50 ERA over his past six starts.
Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura allowed one run and six hits in a win last Saturday at Boston, making him 4-0 with a 3.55 ERA in his last six outings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Naturally, they pounded five homers in an explosive performance.
"It's why the people come to the games," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said after an 8-5 victory. "Because what's supposed to happen on paper doesn't always happen."
For instance, Chris Davis breaks out of an 0-for-16 slump with a double and a two-run homer. Or Manny Machado, also struggling at the plate, hits his own two-run shot. Or Jonathan Schoop hits yet another two-run homer off Cueto, who struggled for the second consecutive start.
Wei-Yin Chen (8-6) allowed three runs for the Orioles while scattering nine hits over six innings. The losing pitcher against the Royals in Game 3 of last year's AL Championship Series, he has now gone seven straight starts without a defeat.
"Every day we come here to the ballpark, all we think about is how to win today's game," Chen said through a translator. "Hopefully we can move up from here."
Cueto (9-9) labored through five innings for Kansas City, allowing 10 hits and a walk. He was coming off a career-high 13 hits in a loss to Boston.
"I'm not a robot," he said. "Just have to keep working, get ready for the next one."
Steve Pearce made it 7-3 with a solo shot in the eighth for Baltimore. Mike Moustakas kept the Royals close with a two-run homer off Brian Matusz in the bottom half of the inning, but Ryan Flaherty answered with the Orioles' fifth homer leading off the ninth.
Zach Britton got three outs for his 30th save.
The Orioles had lost eight straight to the Royals including the postseason, and appeared to be in trouble again when they failed to score with runners on the corners and nobody out in the second inning.
In the bottom half, Moustakas hit a sacrifice fly and Salvador Perez an RBI double to stake Kansas City to a 2-0 advantage that could have been more substantial. The inning ended when Omar Infante ran past Paulo Orlando on a flyout, resulting in Infante also being called out.
Moments later, the Orioles started to showcase their power.
Baltimore tied the game in the third on Machado's two-run shot, then pulled ahead in the fourth when Schoop clobbered his two-run homer an estimated 427 feet to left field.
Davis made it three straight innings with a two-run shot when he went deep in the fifth, the big first baseman's 35th home run giving Baltimore a 6-2 advantage.
Kansas City clawed back with a run in the sixth when Kendrys Morales hit an RBI single, but Chen calmly retired Moustakas and Perez to prevent more damage.
When the Orioles tacked on a couple more home runs in the final two innings, the Royals were headed to only their third loss in 15 games at Kauffman Stadium.
"You're facing the best team in the American League last year and they've added players to improve on that," Showalter said. "So it's a challenge, but we've got a chance to split against the American League champions tomorrow and move on to Texas."
STATS AND STREAKS
The five home runs allowed by the Royals matched a season high. ... Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie made his first relief appearance since June 30, 2012, when he was with the Rockies. He had been in the Kansas City rotation. ... Machado has 26 homers, the most by an Orioles third baseman since Melvin Mora hit 27 in 2005. ... Pearce's homer was his first since July 11.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: After another rough start Tuesday night, Showalter was asked whether RHP Miguel Gonzalez is fully recovered from a groin injury. "Yeah," Showalter replied. "Far as I know."
Royals: Manager Ned Yost has given reliever Ryan Madson and closer Greg Holland some rest due to sore arms, though Holland has been available the past two nights.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Chris Tillman took a tough-luck loss in his last outing against Minnesota, but is 3-0 with a 2.50 ERA over his past six starts.
Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura allowed one run and six hits in a win last Saturday at Boston, making him 4-0 with a 3.55 ERA in his last six outings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
8:10PM,EDT,August 26,2015
Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Baltimore - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Kansas City | BAL | KC |
| Machado grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Parra lined out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Jones struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Wei-Yin Chen pitching for Baltimore | BAL | KC |
| Escobar struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Zobrist struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Cain singled to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Hosmer grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Kansas City | BAL | KC |
| Davis doubled to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Wieters singled to right center, Davis to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Pearce struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Paredes fouled out to catcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Schoop struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Wei-Yin Chen pitching for Baltimore | BAL | KC |
| K. Morales doubled to deep right center. | 0 | 0 |
| Moustakas sacrificed to pitcher, K. Morales to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Pérez doubled to deep left, K. Morales scored. | 0 | 1 |
| Orlando reached on infield single to first, Pérez to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Infante reached on infield single to third, Pérez scored, Orlando to second. | 0 | 2 |
| Escobar flied out to center, Infante tagged out at second. | 0 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Kansas City | BAL | KC |
| Flaherty singled to right center. | 0 | 2 |
| Machado homered to left (404 feet), Flaherty scored. | 2 | 2 |
| Parra grounded out to first. | 2 | 2 |
| Jones grounded out to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Davis struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Wei-Yin Chen pitching for Baltimore | BAL | KC |
| Zobrist walked. | 2 | 2 |
| Cain grounded into double play, pitcher to second to first, Zobrist out at second. | 2 | 2 |
| Hosmer grounded out to first. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Kansas City | BAL | KC |
| Wieters struck out looking. | 2 | 2 |
| Pearce singled to left. | 2 | 2 |
| Paredes struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| Schoop homered to left (457 feet), Pearce scored. | 4 | 2 |
| Flaherty walked. | 4 | 2 |
| Machado fouled out to first. | 4 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Wei-Yin Chen pitching for Baltimore | BAL | KC |
| K. Morales struck out swinging. | 4 | 2 |
| Moustakas singled to center. | 4 | 2 |
| Pérez grounded into double play, third to second to first, Moustakas out at second. | 4 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Johnny Cueto pitching for Kansas City | BAL | KC |
| Parra singled to right. | 4 | 2 |
| Jones struck out swinging, Parra stole second. | 4 | 2 |
| Davis homered to left (382 feet), Parra scored. | 6 | 2 |
| Wieters flied out to center. | 6 | 2 |
| Pearce struck out swinging. | 6 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Wei-Yin Chen pitching for Baltimore | BAL | KC |
| Orlando struck out swinging. | 6 | 2 |
| Infante grounded out to shortstop. | 6 | 2 |
| Escobar flied out to center. | 6 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | BAL | KC |
| Guthrie relieved Cueto. | 6 | 2 |
| Paredes singled to left. | 6 | 2 |
| Schoop singled to center, Paredes to third. | 6 | 2 |
| Flaherty lined into double play, to first, Schoop doubled off first. | 6 | 2 |
| Machado flied out to left. | 6 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Wei-Yin Chen pitching for Baltimore | BAL | KC |
| Zobrist singled to right. | 6 | 2 |
| Cain singled to center, Zobrist to second. | 6 | 2 |
| Hosmer lined out to shortstop. | 6 | 2 |
| K. Morales singled to right center, Zobrist scored, Cain to second. | 6 | 3 |
| Moustakas lined out to third. | 6 | 3 |
| Pérez flied out to center. | 6 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | BAL | KC |
| Parra lined out to center. | 6 | 3 |
| Jones grounded out to third. | 6 | 3 |
| Davis struck out swinging. | 6 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Wei-Yin Chen pitching for Baltimore | BAL | KC |
| Orlando singled to right. | 6 | 3 |
| Infante grounded out to pitcher, Orlando to second. | 6 | 3 |
| Escobar grounded out to third, Orlando to third. | 6 | 3 |
| Brach relieved Chen. | 6 | 3 |
| Zobrist grounded out to second. | 6 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | BAL | KC |
| Wieters struck out swinging. | 6 | 3 |
| Pearce homered to left (426 feet). | 7 | 3 |
| Paredes grounded out to second. | 7 | 3 |
| Schoop struck out swinging. | 7 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Brad Brach pitching for Baltimore | BAL | KC |
| Cain struck out swinging. | 7 | 3 |
| Hosmer grounded out to second. | 7 | 3 |
| K. Morales walked. | 7 | 3 |
| Matusz relieved Brach. | 7 | 3 |
| Moustakas homered to right (427 feet), K. Morales scored. | 7 | 5 |
| O'Day relieved Matusz. | 7 | 5 |
| Pérez flied out to left. | 7 | 5 |
| 2 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Jeremy Guthrie pitching for Kansas City | BAL | KC |
| Flaherty homered to center (423 feet). | 8 | 5 |
| Machado singled to left. | 8 | 5 |
| Machado caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. | 8 | 5 |
| Parra flied out to center. | 8 | 5 |
| Jones grounded out to shortstop. | 8 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Kansas City - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Zach Britton pitching for Baltimore | BAL | KC |
| Janish at shortstop. | 8 | 5 |
| Britton relieved O'Day. | 8 | 5 |
| Orlando grounded out to pitcher. | 8 | 5 |
| Infante grounded out to third. | 8 | 5 |
| Escobar walked. | 8 | 5 |
| Zobrist struck out swinging. | 8 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore Orioles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Machado 3B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | .294 | .358 | .507 |
| Parra RF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | .262 | .303 | .456 |
| Jones CF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | .280 | .318 | .497 |
| Davis 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 | .254 | .339 | .536 |
| Wieters C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | .272 | .303 | .424 |
| Pearce LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .239 | .302 | .413 |
| Paredes DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .273 | .306 | .421 |
| Schoop 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 | .300 | .330 | .517 |
| Flaherty SS | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | .217 | .290 | .348 |
Janish SS
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 |
| Totals | 38 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 148 | |||
| BATTING 2B: Davis (21, Cueto) HR: Machado (26, 3rd inning off Cueto 1 on, 0 Out); Schoop (10, 4th inning off Cueto 1 on, 2 Out); Davis (35, 5th inning off Cueto 1 on, 1 Out); Pearce (8, 8th inning off Guthrie 0 on, 1 Out); Flaherty (5, 9th inning off Guthrie 0 on, 0 Out) RBI: Machado 2 (64), Schoop 2 (30), Davis 2 (91), Pearce (25), Flaherty (23) 2-out RBI: Schoop 2 Orioles RISP: 2-7 (Pearce 0-1, Wieters 1-1, Paredes 0-1, Flaherty 0-1, Machado 0-1, Schoop 0-1, Davis 1-1) Team LOB: 4 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING SB: Parra (2, 2nd base off Cueto/Pérez) CS: Machado (6, 2nd base by Guthrie/Pérez) | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 3 (Jones-Flaherty, Chen-Schoop-Davis, Machado-Schoop-Davis). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO |
| Attendance | 33,003 (87.1% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:47 |
| Weather | 80 degrees, clear |
| Wind | 9 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Joe West, First Base - Bill Welke, Second Base - John Hirschbeck, Third Base - John Tumpane |
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