Orioles lose 15th straight to Rays; Hyde: ‘Right now, we’re not in the game’; Lopez lasts 2 innings

Jorge Lopez lasted only two innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Orioles lost their 15th straight, 7-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Thursday.

The 15-game streak is the second-longest in team history. The only longer streak  came when they began the 1988 season with 21 straight losses.

The Orioles (38-82) secured their fifth straight losing season. To avoid losing 100, they must finish 25-17. They were swept for the 15th time, and completed their fourth winless road trip.

Lopez was in trouble immediately. Brandon Lowe doubled, and Wander Franco was hit by a pitch. Nelson Cruz walked to load the bases, and Austin Meadows walked as Lowe scored. Ji-Man Choi hit into a double play and Franco scored.

Manager Brandon Hyde and the team’s head athletic trainer, Brian Ebel went to the mound for an extended visit with Lopez, who stayed in and struck out Randy Arozarena to end the first.

“I felt I was a little anxious,” Lopez said. “I felt really good. I’m just going to keep mentality strong and get back tomorrow to keep working.”

Hyde said the mound visit was because he noticed Lopez’s fastball’s velocity dropped dramatically, and he wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything wrong with him.

“He said he was OK physically. He just wasn’t himself today,” Hyde said. “He felt fine. He’s working through some things right now.”

Hyde didn’t see any indication before the game that Lopez wasn’t ready to pitch.

“I felt he was ready to go, and I don’t know why the velocity dropped dramatically the way it did,” Hyde said. “After the hit by pitch [to Franco], it seemed like the stuff wasn’t the same. He was just flipping the ball up there.”

Lowe hit a two-run homer in the second. He has five homers and 19 RBIs in 16 games against the Orioles this season.

Hyde said that it was too early to tell if Lopez needed a break, but he said he didn’t need one.

“I worked my whole life to get there, and that’s the last thing I’ll do is give up,” Lopez said. “I’ll come back stronger with a good mentality. We’ve all been through the same thing. It’s just part of this game, keep learning and trusting the process.

“Nobody wants to be in this spot. I promise that. I’m just going to keep my head up and looking forward. That’s what I can do, be strong.”

After two innings, Lopez (3-4)  was replaced by Fernando Abad, who loaded the bases with one out. Abad was replaced by Marcos Diplan. Meadows drew his second bases-loaded walk of the game, and Choi delivered a tw0-run single, and Tampa Bay (75-47)  led 7-0.

The Orioles scored against Shane McClanahan in the fifth on Richie Martin’s RBI single. McClanahan (8-4) gave up a run on five hits in five innings, striking out eight.

Ramon Urias hit his sixth home run with two outs in the ninth.

The Orioles are 1-15 against Tampa Bay this season.

The Orioles began a nine-game homestand with Atlanta, the Los Angeles Angels and the Rays on Friday night and will try to end the nightmarish streak.

“We’ve been trying to reset for a while now,” Hyde said. “It’s not easy right now. We’re not in many games, and that’s hard. One thing that I was proud of the last couple of years was in a lot of our losses, we made it closer.

“We might have blown a game late and done some things to lose, but we played a lot of close games. Right now, we’re not even in the game.”

Notes: Hunter Harvey, who allowed a run on three hits for Triple-A Norfolk in a rehab outing on Wednesday night, will get another one, Hyde says. “He’s scheduled to pitch in a couple of days,” Hyde said.” He could pitch another inning or perhaps more. “Then, we’ll decide at that point if he’ll stay there or come up.” Harvey is on the 10-day injured list with a lat strain. …Ryan Mountcastle has an 11-game hitting streak and Jorge Mateo has a 10-game streak. …The Orioles open a three-game series with Atlanta on Friday night. Keegan Akin (0-7, 8.13) faces Max Fried (10-7, 3.78). …The Orioles released infielder Domingo Leyba, who had been at Triple-A Norfolk. Leyba batted .154 with a home run and four RBIs in 21 games with the Orioles. …Trey Mancini returned to the lineup after missing two games after fouling a ball off his calf. He was  hitless in four at-bats as the designated hitter.

Looking ahead: With the last quarter of the season beginning Friday, the Orioles will soon look at who they may be promoting on September 1 when two players will be added.

“When it comes to roster decisions, whether it’s bringing up infielders or how many pitchers to bring here, that’s up to [general manager Mike Elias] and the front office on when to determine if a prospect is ready or somebody they want to see in September.

“Those decisions are starting to happen now, those decisions are starting to happen, but with the expanded roster only going to 28, it’s a little bit more difficult this year, as well, not being able to see more guys.”

Hyde said the pitching choices at Triple-A Norfolk were limited. He mentioned right-hander Dean Kremer and some minor league free agents.

“Nobody’s been knocking the door down to come back, and we’ve really taken a look at everybody,” Hyde said. “I’m going with the group that I’ve got right now, and we’ll see what happens.”