BALTIMORE _ Going into Monday night's interleague opener against the Washington Nationals, Orioles manager Buck Showalter had only one wish.
He needed some "length" from starting pitcher Kevin Gausman, whose ejection in his previous start _ through no real fault of his own _ had put a strain on the Orioles rotation that still lingered five days later.
Gausman did more than that. He pitched seven strong innings against a strong Nationals lineup, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out eight in a 6-4 victory. It was only his second quality start of the season, but it came at a good time for the club and a good time for a young pitcher who had given up five earned runs or more in his previous three starts that weren't interrupted by a highly questionable umpiring decision.
It certainly was his best start since his first victory of the year _ a six-inning performance in which he allowed just a run on five hits to the Toronto Blue Jays way back on April 13.
Maybe it was the long layoff between significant starts or maybe he just was more relaxed after the Orioles scored four times in the first inning on home runs by Joey Rickard, Mark Trumbo and Trey Mancini.
When the Orioles hit those three home runs off Gio Gonzalez in the first, Mancini saved the best for last. He launched a ball to center field that nearly cleared both bullpens to cap a four-run rally.
Remember, this was the guy who fell into a 2-for-31 slump after getting of to a great start in April, but he obviously didn't let it bother him. He has emerged from that slump with a fury, driving in runs in each of his past six games, with two homers, two doubles and nine RBIs. He has 10 hits in his past 15 at-bats and has a five-game hitting streak.
Caleb Joseph couldn't buy an RBI for more than a year, but he's barreling up the ball a lot more regularly since he ended that drought with a two-run home run at Yankee Stadium on April 29. He had hits in all four at-bats and drove in the Orioles' fifth run of the game.
Joseph came into Monday night's game with a .174 batting average, but he's has hit safely in six of his past nine games and has two more run-scoring hits since that home run. Since starting the season 0-for-12, he is hitting .316 (12-for-38).
Jonathan Schoop was back in the starting lineup after missing a couple games with a bruised hand, and he doubled in his second at-bat to extend his current on-base streak to a career high 23 games. He had a 22-game streak last season.
