Medlen rocked in Royals' 8-3 loss to Orioles
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Dillon Gee hadn't pitched since April 16, in part because he was on paternity leave for the birth of his daughter.
He was solid in relief of struggling starter Kris Medlen on Saturday night, but the Kansas City Royals still fell to the Baltimore Orioles 8-3.
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Gee allowed three hits, struck out five and walked none in 4 1/3 scoreless innings. It was the first hit that irked Gee -- a two-run double to Mark Trumbo, who drove in four runs. Those runs went on Medlen's ledger and gave the Orioles a 7-2 lead.
"It frustrates me that I cashed in two of Medlen's runs," Gee said. "That's still on my mind. That's a whole different game if we can keep it five."
Trumbo's opposite-field hit landed just inside the chalk.
"Just good placement," Gee said. "He didn't hit it very well, just a little blooper down the right-field line that barely squeaked in the line, but nonetheless, it's still frustrating."
Chris Davis homered among his four hits and Manny Machado extended his hitting streak to 16 games in the Orioles' victory, while Tyler Wilson (1-0) won his first start this season.
Davis, who led the majors with 47 home runs last season, hit his sixth homer in the second inning and had an RBI single during the Orioles' four-run fourth. He tied a career high for hits and hiked his average from .192 to .246.
Davis hit Medlen's first pitch out to lead off the second.
"I wasn't surprised at all," Medlen said. "He consistently hits 40-50 homers a year. He's a good hitter and I left a ball right over the plate, a fastball right down the middle."
Machado singled in his first at-bat and doubled in a run in the fourth. He is hitting an American League-leading .397.
Medlen (1-1) allowed seven runs on nine hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.
"In my experience in dealing with this a couple of times, you just turn the page and get over it pretty quickly," Medlen said. "I'm fairly certain I was doing wrong mechanically and whatever else. Try to made adjustments in between. Try to bounce back."
Trumbo extended his hitting streak to eight games and has 10 RBIs in that time. He's second in the AL behind Machado with a .381 average.
Wilson had made three relief appearances this season. He went five-plus innings and allowed three runs and six hits, including Salvador Perez's two-run homer in the second.
The Royals loaded the bases in the sixth on Davis' error, Kendrys Morales' single and Alex Gordon's walk. Rookie right-hander Mychal Givens, the third Orioles pitcher of the inning, struck out Perez and Omar Infante to end the inning.
"We had a couple of opportunities to crawl back in, but we just couldn't get a timely hit to push some runs across and make it a different ballgame," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
The Orioles' bullpen combined for four scoreless innings and has not allowed a run in the past 13 innings.
HOSMER HOT
Eric Hosmer doubled in the fourth and has a 13-game hitting streak. He has reached base in 25 consecutive games dating to last season.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Rookie RHP Mike Wright, a 2011 third-round pick, will make his third start of the season.
Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura, who is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in four career appearances against the Orioles, will start the season finale.
