Kevin Gausman, 2014 Topps Heritage #377

My nascent Camden Yards win streak may have been cut short at three with last night's 2-1 heartbreaker, but that doesn't mean that there weren't any memorable moments. On a personal level, my sister and I won the team's seat upgrade promotion. Since the paid attendance was a cozy 10,614, and the actual number of butts in seats was significantly less for a Monday evening game in April, I encouraged Liz to text our seat location to the promotional number. I figured the odds were in our favor, at least moreso than they've ever been before. So wouldn't you know that when I returned from a third-inning beer run, she was in possession of two tickets for Section 37? I'm quite fond of our usual vantage point in Section 340, but it was nice to be a bit closer to the action. Plus, it's always a cheap thrill to see yourself on the scoreboard. Here's a crummy picture of our upgraded view, courtesy of my iPhone.

As you can see, we were right below the press box, in the last row before you reach the box seats. That meant that we had an excellent view of Kevin Gausman's historical seventh inning. Gausman was a hard-luck loser last night, allowing two runs on four hits in eight innings, with seven strikeouts against just one walk. Yonder Alonso's second-inning homer held up for the Indians, since the O's flaccid bats couldn't produce anything beyond Chance Sisco's second-inning RBI single.

Anyhow, I was pleased to see Gausman mow down Alonso, Yan Gomes, and Bradley Zimmer in order in the top of the seventh. It was all the more impressive because he struck out the side. But I didn't realize until I read the recap this morning that he disposed of all three Cleveland batters on three pitches apiece. It's come to be known as an "immaculate inning", and despite the increasing frequency of strikeouts in today's MLB, it's still pretty rare. There have been 90 such innings on record, making it a less common occurrence than a cycle or a no-hitter. 85 different pitchers have had a three-K, nine-pitch inning, including a record high of eight last season. (Sandy Koufax had three of them.) Kevin is the first pitcher to throw an immaculate inning in 2018, and the first Oriole to do so since B. J. Ryan blew away Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, and Richie Sexson on September 5, 1999. I guess there's just something about the Indians.

I'm glad to know that I witnessed a little bit of history...even if the significance escaped me at the time.

Kevin Gausman, 2014 Bowman #179

If you're counting on the Orioles being American League East contenders throughout the 2016 season (and if you're not, what fun are you?), then Kevin Gausman's performance is a big part of the equation. In the early going, the signs are promising. Tonight is Gausman's fourth start since coming off the disabled list, and he has allowed a total of five runs (four earned) on 13 hits in 23 innings. He's walked four hitters and struck out 20. Of course, the O's have given him bubkes in the way of run support: no runs in either his first start at Tampa Bay or his most recent start vs. the Yankees (though that one produced the team's first-ever extra-inning shutout win over New York). They scored a total of seven runs in his other previous start against the White Sox, including five while he was still in the game, but Darren O'Day picked a bad night to finally cough up some runs and Kevin got no decision. Tonight he settled in nicely after allowing a run on two first-inning hits, but...hold the phone, Manny Machado and Adam Jones went back-to-back while I was typing this up and now they've given their pitcher a 3-1 lead. I guess I just hadn't been complaining enough!

Kevin Gausman, 2013 Bowman Platinum Top Prospects #TP-KG

If the Orioles' starting rotation is going to right the ship in 2016 after a subpar group effort last season, Kevin Gausman will probably need to take a big leap forward. Of course, now it looks like he might spend Opening Day on the disabled list with a balky shoulder; he just received a cortisone injection last Sunday. This is...less than ideal.

Kevin Gausman, 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes #226

I saw a fantastically entertaining game last night at Camden Yards. It breezed by in two hours and 23 minutes, thanks in large part to Kevin Gausman's dominant performance. He struck out 10 Toronto hitters in eight innings, allowing a solo home run to Darwin Barney (out of pity, I suspect) and no more. For the first six innings, the Baltimore hitters made their own contribution to the brisk pace by scraping together a scant two hits against Blue Jays starter R. A. Dickey and reliever Ryan Tepera. But in the home seventh, the Birds broke loose. Manny Machado led off with his 31st home run of the season, and Chris Davis made it back-to-back blasts with his 44th of the year and his career 200th. A J. J. Hardy RBI single and a two-run double by Nolan Reimold capped the five-run inning. The milestones kept coming in the bottom of the eighth. Davis went deep again - his 159th as an Oriole, moving him past Melvin Mora for tenth-most in team history. Two batters later, Matt Wieters crushed a two-run homer, the 100th of his career. Altogether, it added up to an 8-1 trouncing of the front-running Jays.

There was another game earlier yesterday, but I don't remember what happened in that one.

Kevin Gausman, 2013 Topps Update Series #US274

I asked Kevin Gausman for a good performance last night, and he was equal to the challenge. With a sellout crowd of 44,202 in attendance (including your intrepid blogger), the 23-year-old finally got his first big league win as a starter in his seventh try by pitching seven strong innings. Gausman held the high-octane Oakland offense to one run on a solo homer by Coco Crisp, who magically becomes Rickey Henderson whenever he faces the Orioles. The O's young starter allowed four hits total along with one walk, and struck out six. When he needed to bear down, he did it in a big way. After run-scoring hits by Caleb Joseph, Nick Markakis, and Adam Jones handed him a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth, Kevin allowed a pair of singles and a wild pitch to put two runners in scoring position with one out and the heart of the A's order due up. He responded by whiffing Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss back-to-back. The strikeout of Moss was particularly impressive; the powerful right fielder was dispatched on three pitches, the last of them hitting 99 on the radar gun. David Lough provided some insurance with a two-run homer off of Jim Johnson (welcome back, Dirty Jim), which proved crucial when Brian Matusz put a couple of runners on base in the eighth inning and Darren O'Day allowed them to score on a single by pinch hitter Kyle Blanks. O'Day snapped back and finished out the game by retiring five of the next six batters, notching three strikeouts of his own. I had a fine night at the Yard; it's just a shame that the Orioles didn't play today.

No, there was no game today. Certainly not an 11-1 blowout loss. Nope. You dig?

Kevin Gausman, 2013 Topps Making Their Mark #MM39

Okay, Kevin Gausman. It's up to you to play the stopper tonight against Oakland. The O's are on a two-game skid, Miguel Gonzalez and Johan Santana are injured, and most importantly (selfishly), I'd like to see a win up close this evening. Sure, you've still only got 191 innings as a pro under your belt, but it's never too soon to start living up to your potential as a fourth-overall draft pick. Yoenis Cespedes, Brandon Moss, Josh Donaldson? They're nothing but chumps compared to you. Leave them wondering what they've just seen, Goose. Do it for all of the Kevins.

Kevin Gausman, 2014 Topps #190

Now that I've finally cobbled together a fair-to-middlin' return package of cards to send his way, I'll allow myself to talk about the padded envelope of O's cards that I received from Max last week. Blogdom's favorite Mets/Saints/Football Giants fan made good with a handful of 2014 Topps Orioles, including the dearly Birdland-departed Nate McLouth and Future Stars cards (they're back!) of Kevin "Goose" Gausman and Manny Machado. Gausman's inclusion seems to be keeping more in the spirit of the prospect-focused 1980s and 1990s Future Stars, as he has only 47.2 big league innings to his name and just saw his odds of breaking camp with the Birds next month get a bit worse. Ubaldo Jimenez is the kind of guy that bumps a rookie from the starting rotation, top draft pick or no. On the other hand, I would argue that Machado is already a star, by dint of his 2013 All-Star Game selection and Gold Glove Award. But if Topps wants to shield itself against the hindsight mockery that has been heaped upon the likes of Tim Pyznarski and Steve Searcy, who am I to argue? Max also supplemented my O's collection with a few shiny Bowmans of Chris Davis and Jim Johnson, an even shinier Prizm rookie card of ex-Oriole and current Astro Little Jerome Hoes, and a 2013 Topps Chasing History insert of Manny. The Cal Junior Turkey Red card that graced yesterday's post was also from this unassuming bubblelope, as was a 1993 Score base card of Joe Orsulak and a 1998 Fleer Tradition Harold Baines. Though these cards were sent blindly, only a pair of the dozen I received were duplicates - Harold Reynolds and Brady Anderson's 1993 Studio cards. Whether he realizes it or not, Max continues to find ways to surprise me. That's what makes for a good trade partner.

Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman, 2012 Bowman Top Picks #TP-BG

Here's a doozy of a card that Max just sent my way (note to self: get your butt to the post office this week!), with a pair of reminders that the Orioles still have hopes for a competitive future despite their timidity in free agency. Both Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman have already had their first tastes of the major leagues, and with the proper sacrifices to the baseball gods, there should be better times ahead. As long as the O's don't wind up earning too many more top-five draft picks in the coming years, I'll be happy.