Orioles show little life, boo birds come out in 6-2 loss to Athletics

An announced crowd of 30,707 rained boos down onto the field at Camden Yards after the missed opportunity.

Baltimore went 33 consecutive innings without scoring multiple runs in a single frame until Colton Cowser hit a pinch-hit, two-run single in the eighth. The Orioles’ offense has been about a league-average group for most of this season, ranking among the middle third of MLB in runs per game (4.54, 10th), home runs (42, 15th) and OPS (.704, 17th) entering play Saturday. However, the unit has taken a step back since the start of May, scoring five runs or more just twice in nine games.

Gunnar Henderson, whose slump has been central to the team’s struggles, went 2 for 5 with a double, and catchers Rutschman (double) and Samuel Basallo both stayed hot to combine for three hits. Aside from Taylor Ward drawing three walks to raise his on-base percentage to .420 (tied for fourth best in MLB), the Orioles were otherwise absent at the plate until Cowser’s eighth-inning single off the bench.

Lou Trivino pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to spare the rest of the bullpen from needing to cover the back half of the game. Dietrich Enns and Andrew Kittredge followed to account for the final two frames, with Kittredge allowing an insurance run on an RBI single by pinch hitter Colby Thomas to give the game its final score.

Around the horn

— The Orioles added utility player José Barrero to their taxi squad Saturday morning after scratching Blaze Alexander from the lineup Friday with right calf tightness, but Alexander arrived at the ballpark Saturday feeling better and went through normal pregame workouts. He was never used off the bench with the game out of hand in the late innings.

— Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad reported to Double-A Chesapeake on Saturday to begin a rehabilitation assignment after being sidelined for the first six weeks of the season with a right hamstring strain. It marked the first time Kjerstad has appeared in a professional game outside of spring training since July 25 last season.