Astros lose 4-3 to Orioles

TODD KARPOVICH
Associated Press

BALTIMORE (AP) — Houston right-hander Scott Feldman was effective in his first start since going on the disabled list.

He was able to mostly contain the formidable lineup of his former team and did not show any ill-effects after being out since April 21 with right biceps tendinitis.

However, the Astros could not capitalize on his solid outing in a 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. Houston has lost six of its last seven games.

“I definitely felt like I could throw all my pitches,” Feldman said. “I was throwing more free and easy. It was a good feeling, in that regard. It would’ve been a nice one to win. They just got the best of us tonight.”

Feldman, who went 5-6 as a starter for the Orioles in the final three months of last season, allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts over six innings. He gave up his first two home runs in five starts this season.

Chris Carter his fifth home run of the season for the Astros.

George Springer went 0 for 4, ending the longest hitting streak of his career at eight games.

“Whenever you get opportunities to put runs on the board, you want to do everything you can to execute,” Houston manager Bo Porter said. “We had first and second with an opportunity to bunt them over.

“We didn’t execute there and hurt our chances of pushing across runs.”

Steve Pearce and Manny Machado homered for the Orioles, who won a season-high fourth consecutive game. Baltimore (19-14) is five games over .500 for the first time this season.

Pearce, who re-signed with the Orioles just two days after being released April 27, hit his third homer in four games. He homered in consecutive games for the first time in his eight-year major league career and has three this season. Pearce has been in the lineup in place of first baseman Chris Davis, who is on the disabled list with a strained left oblique.

“I just want to keep doing what I’m doing,” said Pearce, who is batting .300 with three homers, six RBI and five runs over the past nine games. “I think they know what I can do. Hopefully, I can stay around for a little longer this time.”

Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen (4-2) had another effective outing, allowing two runs and five hits with four strikeouts and one walk and tied a season-high by going seven innings.

Machado hit his first home run of the season since returning from offseason knee surgery on May 1. Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis went 3 for 4 with an RBI and extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

With the game tied at 2, the Orioles’ J.J. Hardy led off the seventh with a double to center. Astros righty Jerome Williams (1-2) got the next two batters to ground out before allowing an RBI single to Jonathan Schoop. Markakis followed with a double to center that made it 4-2.

“I thought I battled, getting those two ground balls, and then just left that cutter up over the middle,” Willams said. “You’ve just got to tip your hat to them and try to execute the pitch next time.”

Dexter Fowler led off the ninth with a double off Orioles closer Tommy Hunter. Marc Krauss walked before Hunter got Carter to hit into a double play, which scored a run. Springer then struck out to end the game as Hunter picked up his 11th save.

Houston fell to 1-20 when scoring three or fewer runs.

The Astros opened a 1-0 lead in the second when Matt Dominguez led off with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by L.J. Hoes, who was acquired from Baltimore last season. The Orioles, who were coming off a three-game sweep of Tampa Bay, answered in the bottom half of the inning when Pearce and Machado hit solo shots.

Carter snapped a 1-for-16 skid when he led off the seventh with a liner to left off Chen that cleared the fence by several rows. The Orioles, however, would rally for the victory in the bottom half of the inning.

“In the top of the inning, I allowed a tying home run so I was kind of upset about that,” Chen said. “But they had a timely offense and Nick and Schoop had big hits and we were able to get the go-ahead run and got the win. I was happy about that.”

NOTES: Houston recalled RHP Paul Clemens from Triple-A Oklahoma City. …The Astros placed RHP Jose Cisnero on the 15-day DL with elbow discomfort, backdated to May 7, and optioned LHP Brett Oberholtzer to Oklahoma City. … Davis (strained left oblique) will have a rehab assignment at Double-A Bowie on Saturday and then be re-evaluated Sunday when he is scheduled to come off the DL. … Outfield prospect Henry Urrutia, who was Baltimore’s Minor League Player of the Year last season, is scheduled to have sports hernia surgery on May 13 and will be out 6 to 8 weeks.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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