Starter Miguel Gonzalez came off the DL for tonight’s game, and appeared to be no worse for the wear after suffering with a blister on his pitching thumb. Gonzalez’s line: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K. Gonzalez was locating his fastball early, and recorded outs at will. However Travis Hafner continued his hot series against the Orioles with an RBI-single in the top of the first as New York took an early lead. However Chris Dickerson, playing in center field in place of Adam Jones (who was DHing due to soreness), recorded his second big league home run in the last of the third to tie the game at one. Yet part of the Orioles’ problem of late has been that once they respond it seems that the opposition is allowed to re-take the lead in the immediate aftermath. And that’s what NY did, with Vernon Wells leading off the fourth with a double and then scoring on another Hafner RBI-single.

This game was somewhat of a coming out party for Chris Dickerson however, and he single-handedly kept the Orioles in the game. Following NY taking the lead. However after the Orioles’ second run, the pace of the game slowed to a sloth-like trot. Tommy Hunter pitched two flawless innings, which as I’ve said before is something that might go unnoticed in the final game story. However Hunter has been lights out for the Orioles when he’s been called upon, and I also feel like he’s saved quite a few of his fellow bullpen pitchers as the past couple of weeks have progressed. That’s been huge in terms of guys not being incredibly tired as time has gone on.

In using the term “buh-bye” in the title of this column, there are a couple of references there. First and foremost, McLouth’s walk off home won it for the Birds. That ended a six-game losing streak, that was almost embarrassing at times for this team. This win got the monkey off of the Orioles’ backs, and now they can come back to the park tomorrow without the pressure of the losing streak hanging over their heads and just play. However the “buh-bye” is also for the fact that Jim Johnson was able to have a positive outing, bidding adieu at least to struggle after struggle. Johnson pitched a 1-2-3 tenth inning, and thus picked up the win in the game.

The fact that Johnson was in the game in that situation spoke volumes about Buck Showalter and how much he trusts his players. You’d be remiss not to at least acknowledge Johnson’s struggles of late, and the fact that Showalter sent him out there in that situation should tell us something. It should also send a message to the most fickle of fickle fans in that we have to have patience with players and with teams. There’s going to be adversity over the course of 162 games, just as there’s adversity in life. But you have to have faith in people’s overall record, and thus have faith in the fact that people will revert to their normal form at some point. Showalter showed a lot of confidence in his beleaguered closer, and it paid off. As a reliever you aren’t overly concerned with your win/loss record because the idea is that you want to hold the score where it is. However the fact that Johnson was credited with the win has to give him some confidence.

The Orioles will culminate their three-game series with New York tonight at Camden Yards with Jason Hammel on the mound. Hammel of course is coming off of a lackluster outing against Tampa last week, but is 5-2 overall on the season. He’ll be opposed by Hiroki Kuroda of New York. Obviously the big news following tonight’s game was that the O’s will recall pitcher Kevin Gausman from double-A Bowie to make tomorrow’s start in Toronto. This is an interesting turn of events to say the least, as Gausman will be making his first big league start (and his major league debut at that). For more on that, read the column that was posted early this morning by Birds Watcher staff writer Margaret Hooper.

Mar 9, 2012; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (75) pitches during the game against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park. The Orioles defeated the Red Sox 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

According to MASN.com & FoxSports.com, the team is preparing to call up highly touted starting pitcher & 2012 top draft pick Kevin Gausman to make the start in Toronto on Thursday against the Blue Jays.

Gausman, 22, rated as the team’s overall #2 prospect, may be coming up to the big leagues earlier than expected, but it doesn’t come as a huge shock, especially with the pitching struggles the team has dealt with this season. The team’s number one rated prospect, fellow pitcher Dylan Bundy, has been dealing with some lingering arm soreness and isn’t scheduled to start throwing again for a couple of weeks.

According to Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com,

Entering Wednesday, the Orioles had received three consecutive starts of six innings or more, but prior to that, the club endured a seven-game stretch in which it got five innings or fewer from its starter six times. The O’s have already used 10 starting pitchers, and Gausman would be taking the turn of Jair Jurrjens, who allowed four runs over five innings in his one start before being optioned on Tuesday.

While he is only 2-4 with a 3.11 in eight starts for AA Bowie this season, his current strikeout to walk ratio is the stuff that makes scouts drool, 49 : 5. It is that stat, according to FoxSports.com, along with Gausman’s command, that gives the team confidence that Gausman is ready to make the leap to the major leagues. He has pitched just 64 1/3 pro innings, but he has been pitching well as of late, fanning 10 batters in his most recent outing.

Gausman did spend a lot of time with the major league club during spring training, but here’s a quick video the Baysox put together to introduce him to Orioles fans.

It’s tough NOT to think about a comparison between Gausman and wunderkid 3rd baseman Manny Machado, who made the big league jump at age 20 last season and has started extremely well this season in the field and at the plate.

May 19, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado (13) throws over to first base to get out Tampa Bay Rays first baseman James Loney (not shown) in the sixth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Gausman will need to be afforded some time to work out the kinks and butterflies that accompany being called up for the first time, but there’s a reason the O’s selected him so high last year. Be sure to check out the Orioles this Thursday, May 23 against Toronto as the seemingly never-ending game of musical pitchers continues and Gausman makes his first major league start.

Cofirmation: Kevin Gausman is getting the start Thursday at Toronto to begin his big league career. Last year’s No. 1 pick jumping from AA

— Dan Connolly (@danconnollysun) May 22, 2013

For those of you on Twitter, Gausman’s handle is @KevinGausman.

Nick Markakis scores in the 7th inning last night and is congratulated by Adam Jones. Photo: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Even if these may not yet be times that try men’s souls, isn’t this getting a little ridiculous? Six losses in a row, all at home? Three blown saves in a row?

Judging by the postgame interviews last night, and most nights, the Baltimore Orioles take it in stride, support each other as they should, and look at it as a long season, as it is. No panic in that clubhouse. Maybe if the same were happening in September, but not now.

Has the league figured out Jim Johnson, and his blown saves are just the beginning of a more serious downturn? Baseball is a game of adjustments, and this is the first time since last season that Johnson has been forced to adjust in response to the league adjusting to him. There’s … well, cooler heads can always say there’s no panic, but three games at home against the first-place team is the wrong time for a losing streak.

Manny Machado has been in the big leagues a total of not quite four months and is going through his first mini-slump, featuring several impatient at-bats. Even though sometimes swinging at the first pitch gets good results. It certainly seems as though most bad results have been happening to the Orioles lately. In his case, it should have been expected.

Nick Markakis, of all people, has also been guilty of some of that during the losing streak, although his gutty at-bat plated the tie run with an opposite-field double in the 7th inning last night, right after C.C. Sabathia threw inside on him. Markakis then scored the go-ahead run when JJ Hardy followed by slapping a double down the right field line.

The Orioles got to Sabathia for 11 hits in his 6 1/3 innings of work, but were frustrated with men on base right up until the breakthrough inning. You cash in on more scoring chances early, you don’t need to pray as much with a 1-run lead later on. But C.C. is C.C. because he can end rallies as often as they get started.

The collapse of the Orioles’ bullpen in the past week – not just Johnson – has stemmed, as we knew it would, from the failure of the starters to go more than five or six innings.  The sight of Johnson has temporarily gone from meaning, “Game’s over” to meaning, “Uh-oh.” Before the first of his three straight blown saves, the team had won 109 in a row when leading after seven innings. The pendulum had to swing back at some point. A nice, big lead would factor Johnson – as well as Strop, who surrendered the Yankees’ go-ahead runs in the 10th – out of the equation just once.

Tonight we’ll see Miguel Gonzalez try to stop the bleeding. He’ll take the ball again after (let’s assume) recovering from the blister on his thumb. His opponent is Phil Hughes.

Nate McLouth, who will lead off and start in left field, is 9-for-11 with five doubles and a home run against Hughes.

Markakis is 14-for-43 (.326) with three doubles, two homers and seven RBIs against Hughes.

Markakis is 9-for-24 with three doubles during his five-game hitting streak and has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, batting .386 (17-for-44) with six doubles and seven RBIs. He’s picked his average up to .293. Being sandwich by these two should figure to give Machado better pitches to hit.

But a little thing called pitching will be the big thing again tonight.

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