BALTIMORE _ The Orioles have been known for their resilience during the Buck Showalter era and they are displaying that quality again this weekend.
They came home from a disappointing four-game series at Yankee Stadium to face a Cleveland Indians team that arrived in Baltimore with best record in the American League. The Indians also owned the best road record in the majors, but none of that has mattered in the first two games of this three-game series.
The Orioles rediscovered their power stroke Friday and kept hammering away on a steamy Saturday night until they had given starting pitcher Kevin Gausman some well-deserved run support in a 5-2 victory before 31,946 at Camden Yards.
Gausman didn't need all of it this time. He pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and striking out seven on the way to only his second victory in nine decisions. Of course, the won-loss record is less reflective of his performance this season than his 3.77 ERA, but those are just numbers.
What's important is the fact that he has helped stabilize the starting rotation with a string of five starts in which he has allowed nine earned runs in 321/3 innings (2.51 ERA).
It didn't hurt that the Orioles (56-40) replicated their first-inning performance of the night before, scoring three runs off Indians 10-game winner Josh Tomlin (10-3). In each game, major league home run leader Mark Trumbo homered to make the score 3-0. But Saturday's rally was keyed by the hustle of Chris Davis, who beat out a potential double-play ball to drive in a run and keep the inning alive for Trumbo's 30th home run of the season.
The Orioles added two more runs in the seventh on Pedro Alvarez's 12th homer of the season and an infield RBI single by Jonathan Schoop.
It almost seems like the Orioles rotation is trying to convince baseball operations chief Dan Duquette that it doesn't need any outside help. In the past 11 games, Orioles starters have combined on a 2.94 ERA.
The Orioles took a shutout into the ninth, but Brad Brach gave up his first two runs since June 16 and Zach Britton had to come on to get the last out for his 32nd save.
