O's try to deal with a losing streak that reaches double digits

Both Orioles pitcher Paul Fry and manager Brandon Hyde, in separate pregame Zoom interviews on Thursday, discussed dealing with losing for an organization that is in rebuilding mode. You knew some of it would happen, but going into last night's game, the club had just two wins in the last three weeks.

Times that many figured would be rough were rough times 10.

Last night, the Orioles lost to the first-place Chicago White Sox 5-1 as the losing streak reached 10 overall and nine in road games.

"I think the biggest thing we can do is just learn from every opportunity that we have," said Fry. "So I've been here four years now, my learning time is kind of shifting more into, 'OK, I better do the job every time.' And right now in the rebuild, guys are learning and getting used to the big leagues and getting use to the speed of the game, stuff like that. Things are slowly turning around and we have a young team and a lot of talent. It's exciting to see."

At the same time, Fry is trying to be a veteran leader for other young players - and especially for bullpen mates that have struggled badly during the losing stretch.

"We keep holding each other accountable," said Fry. "We are there for each other. We've got each other's backs. Think we are starting to play more for each other, rather than for ourselves. So you know things are slowly getting there. We are starting to play the right way and I think we are going to hit a turning point soon. This is a tough stretch for us. There are no off-days. Long road trip. It's just one of those things. You have to battle through it. We are only going to come out stronger at this point."

Said Hyde: "You know, losing whether you are rebuilding or trying to contend, it's not fun. It's frustrating. Especially the amount of games that we've been in that we haven't held leads or come up a run or two short offensively with opportunities. It's not easy to stomach every night. So it's hard to ... people ask about silver linings or positives that come out of games. Yeah, there are (some), but the losses hurt and you know you want to win some games to have your clubhouse feel better. And to keep the great environment that we feel like we have, we want to win some games to have guys feel positive."

But it didn't happen and it was a team effort in a loss on Thursday night. The offense produced just one run, struck out 16 times and went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The bullpen allowed four runs after lefty Bruce Zimmermann gave up just one run over five innings.

That is 14 losses in 15 games and a 2-17 record in the last 19. The O's have been outscored 77-40 during the losing streak, which is the longest since they dropped 10 in a row from June 12-21, 2019.

The Orioles have scored just 10 runs the last four games, going 4-for-44 (.091) with RISP in that span.

White Sox winning pitcher Dylan Cease fanned 10 in six innings, improving to 3-1 with a 2.98 ERA. He got a whopping 29 swings and misses among 55 swings from O's batters. They whiffed on 14 of his 28 four-seam fastballs and on 11 of 15 sliders. His season high for whiffs was 20 before last night.

César Valdez allowed three hits and three runs in just 1/3 of an inning. Over his past four games, he has given up 15 hits and nine runs as his ERA has jumped from 1.23 to 5.30.

Anthony Santander went 2-for-4 with a single and double. In seven games since returning from the injured list, he is batting .400 (12-for-30) with six doubles, a homer and three RBIs.

On the farm: The Orioles went 4-1 on the farm last night, with high Single-A Aberdeen sweeping a doubleheader. Their four clubs are now 51-32 (.614), and if you take away Triple-A Norfolk's 7-14, the combined record for low Single-A Delmarva, Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie is 44-18 (.710).

Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez got the win in Game 1 Thursday for Aberdeen. Over five innings, he gave up two hits and one run with one walk to nine strikeouts on 69 pitches. He is 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. He has thrown 23 1/3 innings on the year, allowing four runs on 11 hits with five walks to 40 strikeouts for a 15.4 K rate.

Right-hander Cody Sedlock gave up one run in 4 2/3 innings in Bowie's win. After a tough first couple outings, Sedlock has allowed one earned run in 7 2/3 innings over his past two outings.