More rebuilding talk and some rotation stats and notes

When a major league team goes through rebuilding there is some pain to hopefully get to some gain. The Orioles have the first part down. They fell 45 games under .500 last night with a loss to Boston at Camden Yards. They are 28-73 and now 42 ½ games out of first place. They are 19 games out of fourth place.

In a race that seems to have captivated some fans, they are three games ahead of Kansas City for baseball's worst record and the prize that goes with that - the top draft pick in 2019.

The Orioles are rebuilding and that is clear. Exactly what that means and how it materializes, and how soon, we're going to find out.

But outfielder Trey Mancini said it is nice that the organization has a clear direction after the trade of Manny Machado.

"Yeah, in baseball that happens," Mancini said."We saw what happened with the Astros and Cubs when they went through a rebuild. In this sport players come and go and sometimes you have to do this."

"It can be difficult. Losing isn't fun. When I got drafted back in 2013 they had just made the playoffs the year before and we watched the guys in this lockerrom that brought winning back to Baltimore. In the minor leagues we could look up to them and now we want do the same thing for the city. It is such a great town and the fans are awesome."

Mancini is not exactly a grizzled veteran yet. He was a rookie just last year. But he said an infusion of young talent and more rookies into the clubhouse could add some energy to the team.

"It definitely does bring some energy," he said. "A lot my friends are in Double-A and Triple-A right now and we've got some good talent there. So it does bring energy when guys come up and make their debuts. Look at when Austin Wynns came up. It can put a smile on your face and bring energy to the team."

The Orioles have had nine players that have made their major league debuts this year and more could be added to this list: Nestor Cortes Jr., Pedro Araujo, Engelb Vielma, David Hess, Wynns, Yefry Ramírez, Steve Wilkerson, Ryan Meisinger and Paul Fry.

From 2012 through 2017, the Orioles won the season series head-to-head with Boston in five of those six seasons, including a 10-9 mark last year. But the Orioles are back to losing to Boston and losing big. They are 1-10 this season with six straight losses to the Red Sox. They've lost 13 of the last 14 between these teams. They have lost nine in a row at Oriole Park to Boston and are 4-16 at home versus the Red Sox since Aug. 16, 2016.

But other than that.....

The Orioles rotation is having a difficult time putting together a quality start right now. They have gone six games without one and have just one quality start the last 15 games with a rotation ERA of 6.50.

Right-hander Kevin Gausman gave up five runs in 4 2/3 in last night's 5-3 loss. He pointed a postgame finger at himself for walking three straight batters to fuel Boston's four-run rally in the fifth inning which was decisive in the game. Not only did he walk three in a row, but it was the last three batters in the Boston lineup in Rafael Devers, Sandy Leon and Jackie Bradley Jr. All began the game hitting .240 or worse.

"Just kind of lost the feel for my split," said Gausman. "That was the biggest thing, especially to a lot of those lefties. But you know, that situation, I had so many opportunities to get a groundball double play. And walked three guys at the bottom of their lineup to get to the top, obviously not what I'm trying to do there. Nothing against those guys, but that is not the top of their lineup. Especially in a lineup like theirs, those are the outs you have to get. As a pitcher, and a pitcher who does really well against lefties, to walk three in a row was really frustrating."

An Oriole starting pitcher has not recorded a win since Gausman did so on July 1 against the Los Angeles Angels. The Orioles have now gone 18 games without a win from a starting pitcher.

The Orioles' rotation ERA for the year is 5.30, which ranks 29th in the majors, ahead of only Texas at 5.40.