BALTIMORE -- A little reprieve finally came for the Orioles on Wednesday night.
And with it came a reminder of just how depleted this Baltimore offense had been. Mark Trumbo, who was activated off the disabled list last week, delivered the two-out, two-run eighth-inning single that helped the O's snap a seven-game skid with a 5-3 win over the Royals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Trumbo's hit up the middle scored Jonathan Schoop, who went 2-for-4 with two runs in his second game since missing three weeks with an oblique injury.
"Getting those two guys back has been a good feeling," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I hope we gained some confidence from it."

The win is just the Orioles' fifth in their last 26 games and their first in the month of May. They've tried lineup juggling, roster shuffling and even some fresh scents, as shortstop Manny Machado bounced around pregame playfully spraying the clubhouse to give Baltimore some good juju.
"I think that's big," starter Andrew Cashner, who tossed a quality start, said of stopping the losing skid. "I think for us right now, it's just win each day. It's just all we can do right now, and hopefully, that'll lead into some things. A big swing today by Chris [Davis]. A big swing by Mark, and I think the timely hitting is starting to come."

The O's lineup, bolstered by the return of both Trumbo and Schoop, has scored 12 runs in its past two games, and it has gotten homers in back-to-back games from Davis. Is it too soon to get excited about Davis, who has twice led the Majors in home runs?
"Yes, I can allow myself [to get excited]," Showalter said of the possibility of Davis heating up. "Sure, it's hard to do. Sometimes, left-handers kind of lock you in a little bit. Chris has got a couple adjustments that he's trying to make, and it's looked good. Of course, he's made adjustments all along. All hitters do. You have to. But he had a big blow for us tonight."

A pair of homers dominated the early goings, with Lucas Duda going deep in the top of the fourth off Cashner and Davis giving Baltimore the lead with a three-run homer off Eric Skoglund in the bottom of the frame.
Cashner held the Royals hitless until Salvador Perez's two-out single in the fourth. Duda followed that up with his fourth homer of the year, sending an 0-1 curveball out to left-center. Cashner, who went six innings, allowed Duda to tie it up on a blooper in the sixth but escaped a bases-loaded spot after that to keep the score knotted at 3.
"I commanded the strike zone a lot better tonight than I did my previous outings," Cashner said. "I've been fighting the front side of my delivery a little bit, but I finally made some progress with that."

With the score tied at 3 in the eighth, Machado reached on a two-out infield single and Schoop delivered his second hit of the night by lining a ball into left field for a double that moved Machado to third base. Royals reliever Kevin McCarthy then left a four-seamer up and Trumbo didn't miss, sending the ball into center field for a pair of runs.
"It felt great," Trumbo said of the go-ahead hit. "Happy to come through. I think we played a nice game tonight, did a lot of things really well, and it went our way."

Orioles closer Brad Brach navigated through a tough ninth for his fourth save. The righty brought the winning run to the plate with no outs, thanks in part to Schoop's miscatch at second on a potential double play, but he got a lineout and a pair of strikeouts to secure the win.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Davis, who has now homered in back-to-back games, sent a 2-2 pitch just over the left-field fence for a big two-out blast that marked just his fourth homer of the year.
HE SAID IT
"We think that every day ... is going to be the beginning of something special. I talk about it all the time. It's pretty consistent in there and it's a real challenging time for personalities and staying together. I'm real proud of the guys, the way they've gone about it. There's not a lot of change in work habits. They're supportive of each other and so is the coaching staff. We're in this together. The fans, everybody. We've got a stake in this." -- Showalter, on turning things around
MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
After issuing a leadoff walk in the ninth, Brach looked like he had a tailor-made double play when Alex Gordon bounced the ball to third baseman Danny Valencia. But Schoop dropped the toss and -- after a 57-second review-- the initial call of out was overturned. It was ruled that Schoop did not drop the ball in transition, making both Gordon and Whit Merrifield safe.
"Obviously, the leadoff walk is not what you're trying to do there, especially with a two-run lead, and then I got the ground ball. They probably make that play 99 out of 100 times. It's just one of those things," Brach said. "I just want to pick up the infielders. It's a good one to move going forward. I got that final strike that I talked about all year. It was good to get that and secure the win."

UP NEXT
Chris Tillman will take the mound on Thursday night, closing out the series against Royals righty Ian Kennedy. The O's righty couldn't get out of the second inning in Anaheim, turning in one of the worst starts of his career. Tillman very well could be pitching for his rotation spot in the 7:05 p.m. ET matchup.