Ugly loss leads to more questions about defense for the Orioles

Tuesday night was an ugly loss for the Orioles as they lost a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning and saw a 2-2 tie turn into a 10-2 loss last night against Toronto.

It got quite ugly in the seventh and eighth innings as the Orioles made three errors and had a passed ball that scored a run. They gave up two-run homers each inning.

It was ugly, disheartening, depressing and a lot of other negative words you could probably think of.

It only counted as one loss but felt like more than that. Whatever momentum the Orioles built up during a feel-good return home Monday carried briefly into Tuesday, but soon was washed away amid 10 more runs scored by Toronto and, once-again, too many Orioles miscues.

At 14-17, the Orioles right now don't have the look of a .500 team, much less a contender.

Consistency eludes them. They recently had a seven-game stretch of quality starts in which they went 5-2. They followed that with a seven-game stretch with just two quality starts, a rotation ERA of 5.73 and a 2-5 record.

The ERA of the starting rotation is 4.76, with Chris Tillman at 6.34 and Bud Norris at 9.88.

The Orioles are now a combined 5-10 against the Blue Jays and Yankees and 13-15 within the division. They are 7-12 on the road and 5-10 in games decided by two runs or less.

But the errors have truly been a problem. The 2014 Orioles made 87 errors for the season, and this team is on a pace for 115. The Orioles have allowed 17 unearned runs already this year and last season, by the end of May, the Orioles had allowed just nine.

Last year, Manny Machado made nine errors in 82 games. Now he has eight in 31 games, and all eight have come in the last 19 games.

Machado is on a pace to make 42 errors. When he played 156 games in 2013, winning Gold and Platinum Gloves, he made just 13 errors.

There are some theories on Machado. Some feel he is too nonchalant at times. Some feel he throws without setting his feet or without the proper mechanics at times. We know he has one of the strongest arms of any infielder in baseball, but his accuracy is just way off this year.

His throw that ended the game Monday night bounced and Chris Davis scooped it out, or that could have been a disastrous play.

Machado is hitting and driving the ball well, but seeing him make so many mistakes is disconcerting. So is seeing the Orioles play with such inconsistency on defense. Suddenly they are nowhere close to being among the best fielding teams in baseball.

Right now there is a lot to be concerned about.