PITTSBURGH – Shane Baz came within an out yesterday of completing six innings against the team that drafted and traded him. Making it through the fifth was important to a rotation that’s failed to do it in half of the games.

Now, it’s Chris Bassitt’s second turn.

Bassitt is prepping for another appearance with the Orioles after allowing four runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Rangers. He walked four batters and hit another in a 5-2 loss.

All of the runs scored in the second inning. He came out of the game at 100 pitches.

Afterward, Bassitt noted how the pitch mix improved after the second but added, “Execution-wise today, I was awful.”

Asked yesterday about any between-starts work done to correct it, Bassitt explained how “it’s still just like learning each other.”

“The thing that sucks about going to different teams is, they’re still learning me, I’m still learning them,” he said. “Still learning like, where I like targets, when I’m going good, when I’m not going good. And the reality is, a lot of these so-called issues that you run into, just, spring training’s not enough time to expose them. And then, you can talk about them all you want, and then, kind of once the game starts, things are just different. So to me, it’s just reps.

“Obviously, me and Adley (Rutschman), me and Sammy (Basallo), we’ve had a number of conversations about what I’m seeing, not just me but out of all of our starters. What I’m seeing from me personally is just, how can we get better?”

Bassitt spoke at his locker before the Orioles carried a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning and lost 3-2 on a walk-off double from Nick Yorke. They need a victory today to avoid the sweep.

“So many people from the outside I know constantly just panic,” Bassitt said. “We’re not obviously happy with the way we so-called started, but we’re basically .500, and I feel like we haven’t played well at all. So it is what it is. It’s just more so constantly keep cleaning things up, keep fixing things. And then, we know our better days are way ahead of us. So it’s just constantly cleaning stuff up. It’s just fixing things and making things as good as we possibly can. That’s kind of where we’re at.”

Reminders of a disappointing start to the season come at the team like blazing four-seamers. Fans are upset. The media chronicles each failing and dissects the reasons. And the starting pitching is going to draw much of the attention.

“Well, it’s the media’s job to obviously sell. It’s also the media’s job to say what they’re seeing right away,” Bassitt said. “But the reality is that, for pretty much all of us, we all pretty much have 31, 32 more starts. We’re a week into the season. That’s an absolute marathon. So yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s freak-out panic and all that. It’s just staying calm and it’s just cleaning things up. That’s all it really is.

“It’s just like, how can we put our best foot forward every single day? You can be upset about the past and you can be upset about yesterday’s game or the game before that. Like, my last start, I can be upset about it, but the reality is, being upset about it doesn’t really do a lot. It’s just adjusting to the next one. It’s just adjusting to today. And that’s kind of it.

“It’s just, how can you constantly put your best foot forward, so to speak? It’s just trying to be the best you can be.”

The rotation is damaged by Zach Eflin making only one start and exiting after 3 2/3 innings with right elbow discomfort. He had an MRI and is seeking a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister in Texas.

Eflin was supposed to hold down the fifth spot after his recovery from August back surgery and the signing of a $10 million contract with a mutual option. He was supposed to be a luxury with that kind of talent and a track record for the back end.

“It really sucks for him,” Bassitt said. “I just know how lucky we are to have him, how good of a clubhouse guy he is, how good of a pitcher honestly he is. I faced him a number of years now and I know how valuable he can be. And the thing that sucks the most is I know he’s dealt with a back issue for a long time now and so everything we were talking to him about – I don’t want to put words in his mouth or talk for him – but I think he fixed his back in the aspect that he was like, ‘I haven’t really felt like this before. My back feels unbelievable. I’ve never felt this good.’

“It was obviously super encouraging because it was like, man, your back has given you issues for a long time and now all of a sudden you’re telling us it might not be an issue at all, and now you pair that with who he is and how good he is and it’s like, he can go out and do something really, really special for us this year. So yeah, it was discouraging, but as long as he wants to, I would be crazy to think he wouldn’t come back from whatever he has to go through and pitch at a really, really high level. The way that he pitches and how good he is and how smart he is and how good of a clubhouse guy he is, like I told him, I think he can pitch for a long time.”

Bassitt is doing it at age 37. Eflin turns 32 on Wednesday.

“I think he can easily pitch until he’s 37,” Bassitt said.

“It’s just unfortunate timing because he went from basically missing the year with his back and then potentially missing this year, it just sucks from the aspect of, life’s not fair. But if I’m a GM, I’m signing him right away because if he shows in spring, man, this is what you can be with a good back, and the way he approaches the game and the way he takes care of his body, I think he can be really, really good for a long time.”

Bassitt has made six starts against the Pirates and gone 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in 35 2/3 innings. He’s allowed six runs in 24 2/3 innings at PNC Park.

Former Oriole Ryan O’Hearn is 8-for-15 with a double and home run against Bassitt. Brandon Lowe is 11-for-20 with two doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs.