BALTIMORE -- In the Mariners¡¯ season filled with the expected ups and downs of youth and roster turnover, Marco Gonzales has been the one consistent force.

Since taking over as Seattle¡¯s No. 1 starter this spring, the 27-year-old has gone about his business in impressive fashion, including seven innings of two-run ball in Sunday¡¯s 2-1 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards in the Mariners¡¯ final road game of the campaign.

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All that Gonzales lacked in this one was run support, as he allowed just three hits with two walks and four strikeouts in a sunny afternoon pitching duel with Baltimore lefty John Means, one of this year¡¯s top American League Rookie of the Year Award candidates.

Since posting a victory in Seattle¡¯s Opening Day win over Oakland in Tokyo back in March, Gonzales has put up career highs in wins and innings pitched. He stands 16-12 with a 4.09 ERA and one start remaining on Saturday in Seattle against the A¡¯s.

¡°I just feel good about giving my team a chance to win every time out,¡± Gonzales said. ¡°That¡¯s the most gratifying thing. Staying consistent with my work and coming here every day to help the team win.¡±

It speaks volumes that the Mariners are 17-16 in games started by Gonzales, compared to 49-74 with anyone else on the mound.

¡°Marco has been great,¡± said Seattle manager Scott Servais. ¡°What a year. He¡¯s coming up close on 200 innings, and there¡¯s not many guys in this league that can still do that. And right there today, if we get a big hit here or there, he wins another ballgame.¡±

The savvy southpaw gave up a run on two hits in the first inning on Sunday, then rolled through five scoreless frames without a hit until Chris Davis lined a solo homer with two outs in the seventh off a 2-1 sinker, a projected 383-foot shot into the right-field seats.

¡°I honestly didn¡¯t think it was going to get out, but it squeaked out,¡± Gonzales said. ¡°So hat tip to him.¡±

It was the third straight start of seven innings for the former Gonzaga standout, who is up to 196 innings in 33 starts on the season after totaling 166 2/3 frames last year in 29 outings.

¡°We were back and forth, really, just mixing some early strikes in, and I got a lot of early swings,¡± Gonzales said. ¡°We had a bunch of quick innings and were really rolling there. I was just really happy with my execution overall.¡±

Long making most of September opportunity

Seattle¡¯s lone offensive counter was rookie second baseman Shed Long, who went 2-for-4 with a triple and double. Long accounted for the Mariners¡¯ only run after leading off the game with his triple and scoring on J.P. Crawford¡¯s single to right. That was the only damage done to Means, who evened his record at 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA for a team that sits at 51-105 with a week to go.

Long is batting .422 (19-for-45) with eight extra-base hits over his last 10 games to hike his season average to .295 after rejoining the team as a September callup. He¡¯s been playing primarily in left field, but started Sunday in place of Dee Gordon at second base, which figures to be his long-term position.

¡°Shed is having a really good run,¡± said Servais. ¡°He missed some time, about 5-6 weeks with the broken finger. So he¡¯s one of the fresher guys out on the field. You can see it. And good for him. I thought he played really well at second base today. It was a good sign there. Having the versatility is really big for him. But the bat is the story right now for Shed. He¡¯s going really well.¡±

The Mariners finished their final road trip with a 4-2 record and went 33-48 on the road for the season, their most away losses since a 28-50 mark in 2011. The Mariners are 66-90 heading home for their final six games of the year.