Wrapping up a 1-0 win

BOSTON - A three-city road trip that could have knocked down the Orioles instead produced a 6-3 record and lifted them within a game of first place in the American League East.

The Orioles took two of three from the Rays, Tigers and Red Sox, riding Kevin Gausman's latest gem and Mark Trumbo's 42nd home run to a 1-0 victory at Fenway Park.

This was the Orioles' first 1-0 win over the Red Sox since Sept. 24, 2000 in Boston.

Gausman extended his career-long winning streak to five games and posted his team-leading 17th quality start. Though he's 2-9 on the road, he's allowed three earned runs or fewer in 11 of his 16 outings.

Gausman and Tyler Wilson are the franchise's first pitchers with starts of eight-plus scoreless innings at Fenway Park in the same season since the St. Louis Browns' Duane Pillette and Bobo Holloman in 1953.

Zach Britton retired the side in order in the ninth for his 43rd save, making Hanley Ramirez look silly on a game-ending strikeout.

Rick Porcello was 13-0 at home before tonight's loss. He held the Orioles to one run and four hits in eight innings and struck out 17 batters in a row. The ultimate hard-luck loser.

This is the Orioles' first three-series winning road trip since 1998.

Let's get to the postgame quotes.

Manager Buck Showalter on the pitching duel: "Kevin knew he was going to have to be on top of his game. Porcello's having a great year and he's going to be another Cy Young candidate that we've seen - a lot of them on this road trip. Seemed like we've been gone for a couple years.

"We're all looking forward to getting back to some supportive people. We've been in some pretty hostile areas, but Kevin was great. I know it won't go overlooked, but Manny (Machado) made two or three plays, J.J. (Hardy) made two or three plays, Jonathan (Schoop) made a big play there on the pop up in the eighth inning, and Chris (Davis) made a couple big plays. Matt (Wieters) had a great night behind the plate.

"To think you can make one run stand up in this ballpark against as good an offensive team they are is a real tribute to how well Kevin and Zach pitched. That's a tough part of the lineup. Again, Zach, a 1-0 game on the road, especially when they had a little momentum change there in the top of the ninth."

Showalter on whether this is a happy road trip: "Yeah, if you do it mathematically, but we're still one game behind, I think. I was told that by somebody. I ain't looking. But the guys have earned the right to play these types of games. It's a very quiet confidence. They're not guys who toot their own horn. They kind of like when people sell them short. And now we're going back to a place, our city, that gets them and gets what they're doing for the last four years.

"It's been a tough, challenging trip. Going in there tomorrow, we'll get our three or four hours sleep and do it again."

Showalter on what's different about Gausman, who's allowed three runs in 33 innings: "I think a lot of quality strikes with the fastball. I think Kevin and Dylan (Bundy) both realize it's one thing to have a good fastball, but poorly located fastballs get whacked up here. Both sides of the plate were there for him and Matt knew when to slow him down a little bit. You could see his tempo and just the way he was going about his business that he had a real confident front."

Showalter on whether it's enjoyable to watch Gausman blossom in a pennant race: "This is not about what it bodes for in the future, this is about right now. What it means is he played a big part in us beating a team we need to beat on the road."

Showalter on not doubting Britton's availability tonight: "We were talking about four (outs) tonight. No, I wasn't. You know, our guys are very respectful of how we treat them all year and when it's time to push a little bit, it's that time of the year and they're ready. When Dom (Chiti) and Wally (Dave Wallace) talk to them, it's a real short conversation this time of the year."

Gausman on his hot streak: "I think I'm just being a lot more consistent with all my pitches. I think my breaking ball has come a long way really in my last five, six starts. Starting to trust it a little bit more, throw it off the plate. You know, I think for some reason I try to throw it for strikes all the time and against a lot of right-handed hitters I struggled. It was something that going forward I knew it was going to be a big pitch for me, so tried to work on it in my sides but more than anything it was just consistency."

More Gausman on being in a groove: "It's good. Every year I've always gotten better as the year has gone on, but this year it's kind of all clicking for me. I think I'm reading hitters swings a little bit more and I think my rhythm is a lot better, too. I think sometimes I'll get in the mood of shaking off too many pitches and right now I'm kind of locked in and getting the ball going."

Gausman on going head-to-head with Porcello: "It's a lot of fun. Obviously, the rubber match in this ballpark, the atmosphere tonight was just incredible, so you try to feed off of that. And like you said, he's a Cy Young candidate right now, so I knew he was going to pitch well. So for Trumbo to come up big there was huge. Without him, who knows how the game goes. Once we scored one, in the back of my mind, I kept telling myself, that's all we needed. So I just tried to attack these guys."

Gausman on Britton: "Zach, really the last couple years, has really been ridiculous. You look at how much his ball moves with the velocity he throws it, it's special. He does something that nobody else in the game can do, and from the left side. So obviously, you see Hanley's last at bat, he threw some really good pitches and kind of got his number on that last at-bat. He's kind of been that way for the last couple of years and he just continues to impress and be a leader in our clubhouse. Any time you give the ball to him you feel confident."

Gausman on getting out of the seventh: "You really have to take a step back and really think about what you're going to throw. I felt like I had him (Sandy Leon) sped up, so I decided to go with the split-finger and it was probably one of the best ones I threw all night. To come up big in those situations, I feel like in the past, last year I somehow let that game get away from me, whether it's a ground ball up the middle or a little bloop hit. I just tried to be a stopper today."

Gausman on lack of run support and losing on the road: "Even when all of that was happening, I knew that there was really nothing I could really control. I pitched great at home and was trying to figure it out on the road. I feel like I'm pitching my best right now, so that's good."

Trumbo on capitalizing on one Porcello mistake: "I got him pretty early in the game. You can't really foresee what's going to happen later on, but obviously pretty fortunate to get something on the board early. Not a ton of breathing room for Kevin, but maybe just enough."

Trumbo on Gausman: "This is a guy with big time stuff that's really coming into his own. Command is obviously huge. He was ahead of virtually every hitter over there, and from experience when guys are constantly getting strike one on you, those are the types of games that can result like his where he was going out there and having tremendous success."

Trumbo on the road trip: "It's an outstanding road trip, no matter where you are in the season or in the standings. It's fairly well-accepted that you try and split on the road if you can. With three-game series, that's not going to be the case. To win two out of three in each city is tremendous, and it's exactly what you need at this point in the year."

Trumbo on team heading home for 11 games: "It's going to be great. I don't want to contradict what I said, but we play pretty well at home. Hopefully, we can use that to our advantage. We're going to do the things that we did tonight. Can't lose any focus because we still have a lot of work to do."