Alex Cobb falls to 0-3 as O's lose to Tampa Bay (quotes added)

For the first time as an Oriole, right-hander Alex Cobb made it through the fourth inning. But in his third start with his new team, he didn't make it through the fifth.

Cobb was hit hard in the fifth when he allowed four runs as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Orioles 8-4 at Camden Yards. While the Rays have won five straight, the Orioles fall to 6-18 with their latest defeat.

The Orioles have lost four in a row, 10 of 11 and 12 of their last 14 games. They are 3-8 at home and 4-7 versus American League East teams.

Cobb took the mound in the fifth at 56 pitches and with a 3-1 lead. He had allowed five hits but was having his best outing for his new team. And then it turned badly very quickly.

The Rays hit six balls off him tonight at 100 mph or more and four came that inning. Two singles preceeded a two-run double by C.J. Cron to start the inning as the Rays tied it 3-3. Later in the inning, Brad Miller's sac fly made it a 4-3 Rays lead and second baseman Joey Wendle added an RBI single for a 5-3 edge.

Over 4 2/3, Cobb allowed 10 hits and five runs with one walk and no strikeouts. He threw 77 pitches and falls to 0-3 with a 13.11 ERA.

For the third start in a row he allowed exactly 10 hits. The Rays went 10-for-22 at-bat against him, including 5-for-6 in that fifth frame. Over 11 2/3 innings for the season, Cobb has given up 30 hits and 20 runs (17 earned).

After Cobb allowed a run in the first for the third time in three starts, the Orioles tied it 1-1 in the home first on Adam Jones' RBI double. The newest Oriole, second baseman Jace Peterson who was officially added today, drilled a two-run double to right off Jake Faria in the second and the Orioles led 3-1. That margin would hold until the Tampa Bay fifth.

Chance Sisco's first homer of the year and third of his career cut that deficit to 5-4 in the fifth. Sisco connected to left-center off Faria.

But the Rays would begin to pull away scoring once in the sixth and twice in the seventh. Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria hit a solo homer off a Miguel Castro 97 mph fastball in the sixth for a 6-4 lead. The Rays added two runs off Tanner Scott an inning later.

The Orioles had been held to three runs or less 16 times this year. They got four tonight but after Cobb struggled in the fifth, they were headed for another loss. They had just five hits in the game and just two after the second inning. Jones had two doubles tonight and has seven his last six games.

In the second game of a rain-shortened two-game series on Thursday night, Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy (1-2, 1.42 ERA) faces right-hander Chris Archer (1-1, 6.59 ERA).

Postgame quotes:

Cobb on trying to find his form as the team struggles so much: "It's the toughest thing I've had to do as a big leaguer. Just feel like you're behind and going turbo speed to try and catch back up with everybody. Knowing when you are doing too much versus the right amount is tough. You know you throw until your arm falls off between starts to try and get that feel and that ends up hurting you in the end too, when you're feeling a little fatigued. This is tough but I've got to find a way to get it going and get it going quick and I know I will."

Cobb on if anything changed during Rays big fifth inning: "I had some things where I felt really strong mechanically the second inning through the fourth. You know, this whole search that I'm on trying to get right is tough. It's tough to watch. It's tough to play behind. It is even more tough to be out there on the mound doing it. There are no excuses. There are things that are off on my end. Nothing changed there in that game, other than me faltering a little bit towards the end. Went to the well one too many times on the curveball and left some hanging in that last inning. That is where that damage came."

Cobb on how he got on a roll in the second through fourth frames: "It's the best I've felt, just even throwing the ball. Just feeling my hand behind the ball and the way it comes out, the angle I'm having it come out in. And the movement on the two-seam really tells you a lot. So yeah, I was really feeling good. I was thinking this was going to be one of those nights I put it on kind of cruise control. I see a spot and I hit it. And it goes through six or seven innings. I thought that is what it was shaping up to be and it all kind of came to a screeching halt there."

Sisco on if Cobb can take something to build on: "His command was pretty good tonight. He was throwing all three pitches for strikes for the most part. He had that one rough last inning, but command was better tonight."

Sisco on his homer and starting to feel good at the plate: "It's getting there. Obviously, I want to cut down on the strikeouts, but just trying to get good at-bats together, got a good pitch to hit in that at-bat and just barreled it up."