'Huge gut-check' as O's drop 19th straight

BALTIMORE -- Throughout Tuesday afternoon, fresh faces rushed through the gates of Oriole Park. The opener of a three-game mid-week series with the Angels brought the much-anticipated arrival of No. 18 prospect Jahmai Jones, the return of old friend Dylan Bundy and the Shohei Ohtani show making its only stop this season at Camden Yards. The results on the field, however, brought much of the same for the Orioles.

Inching the club closer to dubious history, its 14-8 defeat to Los Angeles on Tuesday night extended its losing streak to 19 games, two off the team and American League record set in 1988. The Orioles are the first team to lose at least 19 straight since the 2005 Royals; their last win came Aug. 2 against the Yankees in New York. Every other MLB team has won at least four games in that time.

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“This is incredibly challenging and a huge gut-check,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re having a lot of tough nights.”

And things aren’t going to get any easier. If the Orioles are going to avoid losing their 20th straight, they will need to get through Ohtani on the mound Wednesday. If not, they will become the first team since the 1988 O's to lose 20 straight, and only the seventh team to do so in the Modern Era (since 1901). The Modern Era record is 23 straight losses, by the ‘61 Phillies. Upcoming series against the Rays, Blue Jays and Yankees -- all contenders -- loom.

“No one wants to be in this position,” losing pitcher Spenser Watkins said. “We’re battling. This is the big leagues. You don’t get that breather. You don’t get that easy team. It doesn’t exist here. It’s about guys digging deep and pushing through.”

Bearing the brunt of Tuesday’s defeat was Watkins, who was charged with a career-high eight runs in two-plus innings opposite Bundy. Facing his former team for the first time, Bundy didn’t fare well either, earning a quick hook from Angels manager Joe Maddon after walking or hitting three of his first four batters in the second. But the Orioles squandered that scoring chance, leaving the bases loaded. The Halos capitalized to the tune of five runs in the second, three in the third and five in the fourth, benefiting from Jo Adell’s two RBI hits, Juan Lagares’ two-run homer and myriad other contributions.

That was enough to overshadow homers from Anthony Santander and Ryan Mountcastle, the rookie launching round-trippers No. 22 and No. 23 to pull into sole possession for the lead among MLB rookies in slugging percentage. The loss was the sixth straight for Watkins; he’s 0-4 with a 12.38 ERA (22 earned runs in 16 innings) during the losing streak. Baltimore has been outscored by 108 runs during this skid.

“You would come in our clubhouse and wouldn’t think something like this is going on,” Watkins said. “There is no dark cloud hanging over the clubhouse. It is a great atmosphere for a team going through something like this. The guys are in good spirits and the staff is handling it phenomenally.”

In saying so, Watkins echoed comments made recently by Braves manager Brian Snitker, who lauded the way Hyde, his staff and players have handled the current situation as Atlanta swept through the weekend at Oriole Park. With each loss, more and more of the baseball world seems to be beginning to pay attention.

“If you didn’t know and just watched this team play or watched them work, you wouldn’t know what they’re going through,” Snitker said.

And with each mounting loss, that sentiment seems to be swelling more and more into a chorus. Maddon became the latest to publicly empathize with Hyde, his underling during the Cubs’ World Series run last decade. Hyde wasn’t the only member of Maddon’s staff to parlay that experience into his own managing gig, but he certainly inherited the largest undertaking arriving in Baltimore when he did, at the foot of the Orioles’ rebuild.

From his introductory press conference, Hyde spoke openly about how challenging the road ahead would be. It has proven every bit the challenge. This is the third double-digit losing streak of Hyde’s tenure and the second of at least 14 games this season. Despite substantial improvements on the farm, the big league club is winning even less (.306 winning percentage) than in Hyde’s rookie year of 2019 (.333 winning percentage). Orioles officials are yet to reveal if Hyde is under contract for '22, but however that situation shakes out, few in the game are pointing fingers at the manager’s chair as the O's bubble back into the news cycle for the wrong reasons. They can dip back out with one win.

“I have nothing but the utmost respect for Brandon Hyde and how he does things,” Maddon said. “It’s not easy what they’re going through. I’ve done it, maybe not to this level. But I’ve lived that with the Devil Rays, and it’s just not easy. You have to understand and tell yourself, 'Don’t take it personally.' It’s not personal. It’s just where they’re at developmentally and about the players you have. When you take it personally, you can lose your confidence and lose your way, meaning you can start getting angry. But it’s not about anger. It should never be angry. It’s a teachable moment. Hyde is the right man for the job.”

Said Hyde: “I’m handling it as best as I possibly can.”