Orioles need offense to open up coming out of break

ARLINGTON, Texas – The next time that the Orioles begin the second half of their season in the same city that hosted the All-Star Game, please let it be Honolulu or Rome. I’d take New York or Chicago right now.

How much longer until Las Vegas?

Pausing at the break allows teams and the media to regroup. We still find the Orioles with a one-game lead over the Yankees. They didn’t lose ground after Sunday.

Other realities remain untouched, like a pair of five-game losing streaks since leaving the Bronx, and how they needed two Yankees blunders with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday to eek out a 6-5 win.

Going 2-for-39 with runners in scoring position on the last homestand is hard to comprehend. Saw it happen and still don’t fully grasp it.

Reminds me a little of that 4-32 finish in 2002. Like, you couldn’t do that if you tried.

The Orioles are batting .249 with RISP, which ranks 19^th in the majors. Their .307 on-base percentage with RISP is 28^th.

They’ve scored eight runs in their last 51 innings and 10 in their last six games. And they needed that improbable three-run ninth against the Yankees to make it more respectable.

The home runs keep coming, with 149 being the most in the majors. A .452 slugging percentage also ranks first, a .765 OPS is second (and first in the American League), and the 474 runs scored are fifth. We haven’t quite reached crisis mode. But the dip in July can’t be ignored.

The Orioles have scored 36 runs this month, tied with the Padres for fewest in the majors. They’re batting .238/.291/.379, and their 98 hits are tied with the Royals for 21^st.

Having 13 position players on a roster allows for only so many lineup combinations.

Ryan Mountcastle batted .248/.302/.438 in June and his slashing .250/.268/.350 with one home run this month. Cedric Mullins is hitting .214/.256/.373 this season in 87 games and is 6-for-32 this month, including the line drive Sunday that Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo played as if chasing a Frisbee blindfolded. Colton Cowser is batting .219/.306/.418 in 88 games and is 33-for-180 (.183) since the beginning of May.

Adley Rutschman deserved the honor of starting for the American League, but now he needs to heat up. He’s batting .125/.255/.200 in 11 games this month, going 5-for-40 with a home run. He’s 7-for-53 (.132) since June 25, when he was batting .300/.351/.474.

Jordan Westburg is 10-for-48 (.208) with 11 strikeouts this month, and Ryan O’Hearn is slashing .194/.242/.419 (6-for-31) in 10 games. But he has two doubles, a triple and a home run.

The value provided by Ramón Urías always has centered on his defense and versatility, and he’s been a league-average hitter. Playing time is sporadic, as expected with the level of talent on the roster, and he’s batting .233/.304/.377 in 56 games.

Jorge Mateo is batting .234/.273/.413 in 65 games. He had another hot start and cooling period, slashing .216/.226/.392 in 17 games in June and going 5-for-23 (.217) this month.

Elite speed can keep Mateo on the roster. That could be his edge when it’s time for the Orioles to make room for Coby Mayo, which should be happening soon.

Heston Kjerstad is eligible to return Saturday from the seven-day concussion injured list and manager Brandon Hyde can provide an update Friday. Kjerstad is batting .314/.417/.529 in 21 games with the Orioles and is 14-for-37 (.378) since they recalled him.

Easy to overlook is how Kyle Stowers, back on the roster as Kjerstad’s replacement, is 11-for-36 (.306) with four doubles, a home run and nine RBIs in 18 games with the Orioles. He began Sunday’s rally with a pinch-hit single off Yankees closer Clay Holmes.

Does he stay or does he go?

The Orioles will work out Thursday evening at Globe Life Field and hope for a collective breakout from a slump that's putting too much pressure on the pitching staff and threatening to lower them in the standings.