Still holding a wild card spot, can O's come back from brutal loss?

That loss felt like the dagger last night. The Orioles were beaten again by the Boston Red Sox and they greatly contributed to their own demise.

Chris Davis made the two-run throwing error on a play that should have ended the top of the sixth with the Orioles leading 1-0. Brad Brach then made it worse by leaving the next pitch right where Andrew Benintendi wanted it. Two pitches, five runs, devastating loss.

Despite that, the Orioles remain holding a playoff berth at the moment. Not only do they lead the race for the second wild card, but they are just a game behind Toronto for the top wild card spot in the American League. Still, they have the look of a fading team right now and they have Houston and Detroit bearing down on them, just one game back. Seattle is two out and New York is 2 1/2 back in the wild card chase.

Houston has won six of seven games and has seven games remaining with the tied-for-last-place Angels. Detroit has a tougher schedule and plays a doubleheader today with Minnesota and still has series left with Kansas City, Cleveland and Atlanta.

The Orioles' offense has gone south again. The sixth-inning meltdown last night would not have looked as bad if the Orioles had scored some runs. But they have scored just five on 14 hits in three games in this series. Over the last five games, the Orioles have scored two, two, two, two and one run. They have hit .186 with 29 hits and nine runs in those five games, going 1-for-19 (.053) with runners in scoring position in that stretch.

In the first half the Orioles had one of the American League's best offenses, ranking second in batting average, slugging and OPS and third in team OBP. In the second half they have had one of the AL's worst offenses ranking 15th and last in batting average and OBP, 10th in slugging and 13th in team OPS.

Orioles in the first half: .272 average, .333 OBP, .467 slugging percentage, .800 OPS.
O's in the second half: .235 average, .295 OBP, .415 slugging percentage, .710 OPS.

The Orioles averaged 5.08 runs per game in the first half and have scored 4.06 runs per game in the second half.

Boston, meanwhile and somewhat suddenly, is now running away with the AL East. At 88-64, Boston is a season-best 24 games over the .500 mark. The Red Sox have won seven in a row and 15 of 20 games. Boston is 22-9 versus the AL East since July 1. They've been the best team in the division and barring a total collapse, they will end this season with a division championship, advancing to the best-of-five AL Division Series. The Orioles are hoping to hang on to a wild card spot and hold off the teams charging at them right now.

With last night's win, Boston is 10-8 against the Orioles and will win the season series for the first time since going 10-8 in the 2011 season. From 2012 through 2015, the Orioles went 13-5, 11-8, 11-8 and 11-8 against Boston.

With deep pockets, an experienced front office and a strong farm system producing young talent at the big league level, Boston has become perhaps Orioles fans' worst nightmare: a team that looks like they could stay at the top for a while.

The Orioles meanwhile now have to prove they can bounce back from one of the season's toughest losses. There is still plenty to play for if the Orioles can get it together with 10 games remaining.