Kevin Gausman found himself in a rare, but relaxed spot Thursday in the Orioles' 13-5 thumping of the Houston Astros — he was sitting pretty in the seventh inning with a big lead, and just trying to keep things under control.
The end result, a two-run seventh sparked by a leadoff walk and a long home run by first baseman A.J. Reed, might have left a sour taste, but Gausman was as tantalizing and effective over the preceding six innings as he has been all season.
Manager Buck Showalter expected as much after Gausman slogged through four innings on 97 pitches last weekend in San Francisco, and that's what he got.
"I made a slight mechanical adjustment and just tried to throw through the glove," Gausman said. "I think I hit my fastball down and away to right-handers better than I have really all season. That was a big pitch for me, and I got some big strikeouts on it.
"More importantly, I got some good quick outs, ground balls. I was able to throw my breaking ball for strikes when I needed to when I got behind in the count. When you can do that against this lineup — I think before the game we said that they're second in the majors in walks and they're No. 1 in strikeouts. That's kind of a weird situation, but they get in a lot of deep counts. I think that's why they get a lot of walks and they strike out a lot. If you can get quick outs from these guys, you're kind of helping yourself."
Gausman did that for most of the day, keeping his fastball down and matching a season high with 11 ground balls coaxed on the day. He got plenty of soft contact with his breaking ball, too — a pitch that has been hit hard and often so far this season. Houston got an infield single by designated hitter Evan Gattis on his breaking ball, but also recorded five outs. Opponents had entered the game batting .373 off it this season.
He still yielded two more home runs — a constant problem for him, both on fastballs that caught too much plate — but overall had a night worthy of the win. He struck out eight and allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits with one walk. He improved to 4-10 with a 4.11 ERA, and might be done fielding questions about the lack of offense when he starts this season.
"Get support?" Showalter said. "Gausman's always had support. He may not always have runs scored, but he's got support every day. Sometimes ... it's a question for him. The players and people that are constantly in the arena, they don't look at it that way. It is what it is. You go out there and you control what you can control. You pitch as well as you can pitch."