The Orioles bullpen has struggled all season to get left-handed hitters out while bridging the middle innings to the late-inning lockdown arms, and the problem has followed the club into August.
The July 29 signing of reliever Logan Ondrusek, a right-hander with a history of success against left-handed batters, was supposed to help, but he has struggled in that role early on. Add in All-Star reliever Brad Brach's sudden missteps against lefties and the Orioles are now having difficulty handing the game over to setup man Darren O'Day and closer Zach Britton.
The team's week in the Bay Area is extremely bad timing for those woes.