Baltimore Orioles Daily: Birds swept by Jays, fall to 48-win pace

TORONTO, ON - JUNE 9: Jace Peterson #29 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after striking out to end the top of the eighth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 9, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JUNE 9: Jace Peterson #29 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after striking out to end the top of the eighth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 9, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

After four straight losses to the mediocre Blue Jays, the Baltimore Orioles are 19-45, putting them on a historically bad pace.

The Baltimore Orioles continued their road struggles over the weekend, dropping four straight games to the Toronto Blue Jays. The third-place Jays dominated Buck Showalter’s squad from the very start, finishing the series with an eye-popping 27-11 run differential.

The Birds turned in their worst performance of the weekend on Sunday. Alex Cobb took a big step backward with his worst start of the year, surrendering nine earned runs in less than four innings, while reliever Pedro Araujo caused some damage of his own, surrendering four runs in the very next frame.

The Birds got home runs from Trey Mancini and Jonathan Schoop, but ultimately, the least productive offense in the American League didn’t stand a chance of making up the deficit. The final score was 13-3, good for one of Baltimore’s most lopsided losses of the year.

On pace for just 48 wins, it feels appropriate to say that the Birds have finally reached rock bottom — and yet, the team appears less competent by the day. They’ll try to stop the bleeding as they travel to Boston for a three-game series with the Red Sox, set to start tonight at 7:05 p.m. Until then, here’s what you might have missed yesterday.

More from Birds Watcher

Best of Orioles news and analysis across the web from 6/10/18

As losses pile up, Orioles still haven’t done much to shift focus to future: Buried in the AL East cellar by 10 games, the Birds ought to be working the trade market while giving their younger players a chance to shine, but instead, veterans like Danny Valencia and Craig Gentry continue to make nightly appearances. In this piece, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tries to make sense of a wholly unproductive season.

Orioles minors recap 6/11: Baysox allow seven steals in defeat: As poorly as the Orioles played over the weekend, their minor-league affiliates were nearly as bad, coming away with just one win in four games on Sunday. Paul Folkemer of Camden Chat has more.

Remembering 1983: A look at the Orioles’ world championship for the week of June 10-16: In this weekly Baltimore Sun column, Mike Klingaman looks back at one of the great teams in Orioles history. Yesterday’s installment features a big comeback victory against Milwaukee, as well as the return of three-time Cy Young Award winner Jim Palmer.

Next: The top 5 strikeout pitchers in Orioles history

What do you think: will the Orioles improve their pace before the season is out? Let us know on social media, and keep it here at Birds Watcher for more updates on the Baltimore Orioles.