As O's continue to struggle, has the offense or pitching been the biggest culprit?

As the Orioles have fallen under .500 with their latest loss, the real issue may be it's hard to pinpoint the biggest issue.

Is the offense to blame? How about the pitching? The defense has had its share of shaky moments going back to early this year and the two errors on Sunday in the 12th inning that cost the team a game.

We know that a loud chorus of fans has been blaming the club's offseason acquisitions as not nearly good enough to replace Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis. That is certainly a valid point.

But right now this club is springing leaks all over. Some of the comments from both manager Buck Showalter and the players in recent days makes it apparent that they feel the frustration every bit as much as the fans. How could they not?

Let's talk offense for a second. It's been awful lately. During the season-worst six-game losing streak, the Orioles have scored three runs or less each game with 15 total runs. They've hit just two homers in the six games. The Orioles hit 15 homers in the six games before this stretch and went 5-1.

It feels to me like the Orioles 2014 offense was so much better than this year's version. That is actually not the case. Despite the recent slump, the 2015 Orioles are averaging 4.39 runs per game and on pace to hit 210 homers. The club last year averaged 4.35 runs per game and hit 211 homers.

The Orioles ranked sixth in the American League in runs scored last year. They rank sixth this year.

With this recent stretch of offensive futility, this team is now scoring three runs or less in a game, a higher percentage than last year, but it is almost even. The 2014 Orioles scored three or less in 44.4 percent of their games. The percentage is 44.8 this season.

But the 2014 Orioles won a higher percentage of those games, going 21-51 (.291) when scoring three or less. The 2015 club is 9-47 (.161).

Now to the starting pitching and here is a big difference from last season. The 2014 O's rotation ERA was 3.61 to rank fifth in the AL. The rotation this year is 4.36 to rank 13th, ahead of only Detroit and Boston.

Orioles 2015 rotation ERA by month:
April - 5.06
May - 3.84
June - 4.40
July - 3.92
August - 4.95

The Orioles' team ERA after the All-Star break last year was a stellar 2.88 and that ranked first in the majors. The team ERA in the second-half so far this year is 4.05.

For most of this season, it seems the Orioles have had 40 percent of their rotation struggling. Early on it was Bud Norris and Chris Tillman. Now it is Ubaldo Jimenez and Miguel Gonzalez.

During the six-game losing streak, the O's offense has been bad. But the starting rotation ERA is 5.97 in this stretch.

The Orioles are looking like and playing like a bad team right now. They are falling out of the race for both the division and the wild card. Do you want to blame the offense or the pitching? Take your pick and you probably won't be wrong.