LOS ANGELES -- A late-August showdown between the Orioles and the Dodgers -- two of MLB¡¯s top teams this season -- had a big-time feel during the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night.

Trailing by two runs, Baltimore had loaded the bases with two outs, with star shortstop Gunnar Henderson stepping to the plate to face right-hander Blake Treinen, who had just entered the game. The sellout crowd was loud, as many fans rose to their feet for the most critical juncture of the contest.

Henderson struck out, swinging and missing at a high 2-2 cutter from Treinen. The O¡¯s then went down quietly the rest of the way in a 6-3 loss to Los Angeles, which took two of three in the series at Chavez Ravine.

¡°It feels playoff atmosphere-ish, as close as you can in the regular season. It¡¯s a really good team over there, with a tough lineup,¡± manager Brandon Hyde said. ¡°We won one. We had a chance to win in the other two if we string some hits together. We just didn¡¯t do it.¡±

It marked the end of one of the most challenging weeks on the Orioles¡¯ schedule. They previously played four home games vs. the American League West-leading Astros -- earning a split of the series -- and then went on the road to face the MLB-best Dodgers.

Although Baltimore (77-58) still didn¡¯t get hot, it survived the grueling stretch by going 3-4. So its deficit to the Yankees in the AL East is only 1 1/2 games.

Despite the O¡¯s 19-20 record in the second half -- which includes a 12-14 mark in August -- they remain in a good position as the final month of the regular season nears. Their schedule is also about to get quite a bit lighter, as they travel to Colorado to face the Rockies (50-85) before returning home to face the White Sox (MLB-worst 31-104) and the Rays (66-67).

¡°We¡¯re grinding right now. We¡¯ve been grinding for a couple months, honestly,¡± Hyde said. ¡°The effort that our guys are putting in is fantastic. I think our guys are handling everything really, really well right now. It¡¯s a tough time in the season. We¡¯re also pretty banged up. Looking forward to getting some guys back.

¡°To be competitive against two first-place teams, that¡¯s good. But we want to keep pushing and start doing some things a little bit better.¡±

Some of those things again emerged during the finale loss in Los Angeles.

There hasn¡¯t been enough offense, as Baltimore has scored four or fewer runs in five consecutive games and in 10 of its past 12. All three of its runs on Thursday came on one swing -- Colton Cowser¡¯s fifth-inning homer (his 20th of his rookie season) that cut the Dodgers¡¯ lead to 5-3.

Rookie left-hander Cade Povich allowed five earned runs and a career-high 10 hits in his 11th MLB start. He¡¯s given up exactly five runs in each of his two outings since returning from Triple-A Norfolk, recording a 10.80 ERA over that span.

¡°I mean, stuff I looked to improve after coming up, sure, it was fine. Command was still better, only one walk,¡± Povich said. ¡°But I¡¯ve got to make pitches when it counts.¡±

Even though Povich struggled and the Orioles recorded only four hits, the seventh presented an opportunity for them to orchestrate a comeback win. If Henderson had made contact with Treinen¡¯s final pitch of the inning, it could have changed the game.

¡°Battling our butts off, but it's how the game goes. It sucks, but just how it goes,¡± said Henderson, who is mired in a 2-for-27 skid. ¡°Probably just need to not try as hard. Taking a lot of swings so just trying to do what I can to help the team. But yeah, just need to probably take it a little bit easier.¡±

Perhaps a weekend trip to hitter-friendly, high-altitude Coors Field is exactly what the O¡¯s need.

¡°Those of us that have been to Colorado and have played the Rockies there, it¡¯s challenging,¡± Hyde said. ¡°Playing there, it¡¯s just different. It¡¯s video game-ish. It¡¯s so big. The ball travels so much. Balls fall in in the outfield. There¡¯s a lot of things that can happen. No lead is ever too big there. We¡¯re going to go play a young, hungry team that is swinging the bats right now. So we have to play well.¡±