O's drop 5th straight to drop 10 games below .500 for 1st time since '22

MINNEAPOLIS -- The visiting clubhouse at Target Field was mostly quiet Thursday afternoon as Orioles players packed and prepared for a flight west to Anaheim.

Some guys sat at lockers looking down at phones or at the ground. Others got dressed, zipped up their bags and took off. A group of veterans -- outfielders Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano and pitchers Zach Eflin and Kyle Gibson -- sat in a circle and debriefed another difficult day for the team.

The past six weeks have brought more tough days than good ones for the O’s. Add Thursday close to the top of the list of the most challenging (if not in the No. 1 spot).

Baltimore missed several opportunities to break open the series finale at Minnesota, then went on to take a 5-2 loss. The O’s (13-23) got swept in the three-game set vs. the Twins, extending their season-long losing streak to five and falling 10 games below .500 for the first time since June 15, 2022, when they were 27-37.

The sense of urgency is beginning to grow for the Orioles as they’re closer to June than to Opening Day.

“We've got to start winning some games here soon,” first baseman Ryan Mountcastle said.

Many players on Baltimore’s roster haven’t previously experienced this type of losing. A lot of the youngsters had success while coming up together through the Minor Leagues. Then, the O’s made back-to-back postseason appearances, going 101-61 to win the American League East in 2023 before securing an AL Wild Card berth with a 91-71 record in ‘24.

“None of us are enjoying losing. It definitely takes a toll on us,” outfielder Heston Kjerstad said. “You show up every day and you want to win, so going home with a loss is never the funnest way to go home.”

It may be a quiet room following losses, but there’s still no panic. Teams have overcome slow starts like this to have successful seasons.

“I still do believe that it’s still early. It’s really hard to not be able to go to the playoffs in the first few weeks of the season,” right-hander Dean Kremer said. “But guys are taking the losses hard and the wins are awesome, when we get them. Just trying to take it one day at a time and try to keep things as positive as possible.”

Recently, Kremer has been doing his part in trying to help the Orioles get on track. After throwing seven scoreless innings against Kansas City last Friday -- Baltimore’s most recent win -- the 29-year-old right-hander allowed only two runs and struck out eight over seven frames against Minnesota.

The O’s gave Kremer little support. Emmanuel Rivera had an RBI double in the second and Mountcastle had a sac fly in the third, but Baltimore’s final 10 batters went down in order.

The Orioles’ 5.65 rotation ERA ranks 28th in MLB, so when they get an outing like Kremer’s gem, they can’t afford to waste it. Instead, they went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.

The Twins won via a three-run rally in the eighth, with Brooks Lee hitting a go-ahead two-run double off left-hander Gregory Soto and Ty France tacking on an RBI single.

“Should never have gotten to that point. Just offensively we wasted, squandered, so many opportunities that the game should have been out of hand early,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Dean did everything he could.”

The reasons for Baltimore’s disappointing start are aplenty. The starting pitching has struggled. The bullpen has faltered in key moments. The defense hasn’t been too crisp. The injured list is filled with 13 players, including key ones such as All-Star infielder Jordan Westburg, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez and others.

But the Orioles’ offense has been surprisingly stagnant. They’ve lost 12 of their past 16 games and scored three or fewer runs 12 times during that stretch. They plated only five in Minnesota, as their MLB-worst batting average with RISP dropped to .190 (48-for-252).

“There's a lot of us trying too hard,” Kjerstad said. “I would speak for myself mostly. Sometimes, with runners in scoring position, I tend to try to do too much, when you just need to dial it back and just put a ball in play and something will happen.”

This was supposed to be a lighter portion of the O’s schedule, as the Twins were 15-20 entering Tuesday. Six of Baltimore’s next seven series are against teams with .500 records or worse, including the upcoming weekend set against the Angels (15-20 entering Thursday).

However, every series can look like a challenge when the Orioles are stuck in a rut.

“It’s a tough game, and you’re frustrated sometimes,” Mountcastle said. “But just got to keep your head up and keep moving along.”