It turns out that four days off in mid-July wasn’t the panacea for the Orioles rotation that so many hoped for and that the team required if it was going to play meaningful baseball deep into the season’s second half.
The Orioles starters have a 6.02 ERA after right-hander Ubaldo Jiménez allowed six runs by the fourth inning in Sunday’s 8-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs, who clinched a series sweep. Every poor start drops the 42-49 Orioles further out of playoff contention, and there’s no bottom in sight.
“It’s been a challenge for us,” Showalter said of his starting pitchers.