Yovani Gallardo has had little go his way in his debut season with the Orioles. Most of the struggles are his own responsibility but some are the result of odd circumstances around him.
He'd found his footing recently, though, and came into Sunday with the opportunity to deliver a signature performance, maybe even a signature win for a reeling Orioles team in the midst of an ugly series.
Gallardo held up his end of it, matching a season high with seven innings pitched and allowing three earned runs after waiting four hours, 35 minutes through rain delays. Even so, he was drowned by another tepid offensive display and aberrant fielding on a day that showed not only how star-crossed the Orioles' big-ticket free agent pitcher has been all year, but just how far off track the team has fallen in a few games' time.
The Orioles lost 5-3 to fall to 1-5 on their current homestand. It was the first time an Orioles pitcher had thrown a quality start in nine games.
"It's tough," Gallardo said. "It definitely is. That's how baseball is. Some days you're going to run into stretches like that, but we've got to do whatever we've got to do to get both of them working at the same time."
The Orioles' two-year, $22 million offseason signing of Gallardo's raised many red flags — the shoulder weakness, the declining velocity, the issues missing bats — and those concerns proved justifiable when Gallardo struggled out of the gate. But he stabilized when he came off the disabled list in mid-June, and August has been his best month by far.
Still, he found himself in terrible circumstances Sunday. Before he even arrived, Gallardo carried the responsibilities of a veteran pitcher tasked with saving a bullpen that threw 14 1/3 innings over the last two days.
Before the game, manager Buck Showalter said his starters didn't need him to tell them what a long, strong start would mean for his depleted bullpen, and for a team that tends to fall flat when faced with a big, early deficit.
"As the starting pitcher, we understand what we have to do," Gallardo said.
Gallardo has steady demeanor, though, so that burden wouldn't get to him. Neither, did the rain delay, which kept him confined to pacing the clubhouse for the better part of four hours before the game resumed. It washed most of the 29,734 announced fans from their seats by the time first pitch came at 5:40 p.m. — and most of the day's energy along with it.
He retired the side on seven pitches in his opening inning, but had to wait through a second, half-hour rain delay before retaking the mound again. He wobbled a bit there, issuing a walk and two singles, but got out unscathed before a perfect third.
That's when things started to turn south. The Astros got on the board in the fourth inning after Carlos Correa singled, rookie Yulieski Gurriel walked, and first baseman A.J. Reed singled. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop got the run back with a home run in the bottom of the frame.
Then, another promising night for Gallardo evaporated.
Houston's nine-hole hitter, center fielder Teoscar Hernandez, reached on a casual barehanded error by Orioles third baseman Manny Machado — his second of the homestand after entering it with just one at third base all season. Hernandez went to third on a check-swing, seeing-eye single by right fielder George Springer, and scored the go-ahead run on a single to left field by second baseman Jose Altuve.
The single by Springer went right past first baseman Steve Pearce, who assumed that position as part of the Orioles' new lineup against left-handed pitchers that also features regular first baseman Chris Davis in right field.
It was Davis, one batter after Altuve's single, who took an odd route to a screaming line drive by Correa into right-center field. It became a double when it hit the webbing of Davis' outfield mitt and skirted past him to plate two more Astros runs.
Showalter said Davis lost the ball in the lights and nearly made a great play anyway. Gallardo didn't know the difference when he rolled his head back in frustration as the ball landed.
He knew what it meant for him — another loss in a season that's gone according to no one's plan, and another loss for the sputtering Orioles. They began the four-game set with Houston by bludgeoning the visitors Thursday, continued the power surge in the first inning Friday and then reverted back to their previous approach issues at the plate.
Schoop was the latest to talk about staying the course, echoing Gallardo in saying the Orioles just need everything they've done well at times this year to line up.
Sunday was one of the rare times when Gallardo, a source of frustration, wasn't the main reason for an Orioles loss in which he pitched. The three earned runs could have been fewer if Davis' play was scored differently, and Gallardo's ERA is down to 5.09 after starting August at 5.71.
Showalter praised Gallardo's outing for helping save the bullpen.
That's little solace for Gallardo, or the Orioles, whose slide this week has brought them out of the division lead and into a crowded Wild Card picture.
"We have to worry about our job, go out there and give our team the chance to win and just come together like we were doing throughout the year," Gallardo said. "It's just one of those things where we have to keep moving forward, keep working, and try to turn it over tomorrow."
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