It was the battle of the All-Star starting pitchers at Camden Yards on Wednesday.

In the visiting dugout, there was Shota Imanaga, the rookie from Japan who had a 3.16 ERA entering his start. Across the infield was Corbin Burnes, the seven-year veteran selected to his fourth straight All-Star Game.

Burnes recorded a quality start, pitching six innings and allowing just three runs. But it was the rookie who got the win, the Orioles’ offense looking cold despite the feel-like temperature climbing into the high 90s.

The Orioles went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position as the Cubs won 4-0. Baltimore needs a win in Thursday’s series finale to avoid being swept.

“It’s the ups and downs of the season,” catcher James McCann said. “You don’t want to dive too far in. This offense has been really good for an extended period of time. It’s something that we obviously know; we’re not ignorant to that. We’re going to show back up tomorrow and stick with the same process that we’ve had all year. Over the course of the season, the good things are going to far outweigh the bad things.”

Burnes did enough to put the Orioles in a position to win. He gave up a solo home run to Christopher Morel in the second, then let in another run later that inning when Nico Hoerner hit an RBI single. A third run scored in the sixth when Seiya Suzuki drove in Michael Busch, who hit a ball up the infield that bounced off the edge of second base, resulting in a double.

“They had a pretty good approach up there of just doing their best to put it into play, and a lot of good things happened for them,” Burnes said. “Balls found holes, hit bases, pretty much anything that could have gone [wrong] tonight happened. For the most part, I threw the ball well.”

Burnes — the Orioles’ prized offseason acquisition — ends his first half with a 2.43 ERA, the third lowest in MLB behind the Royals’ Seth Lugo and the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal. Burnes, whose wife just had twins, has not said if he will participate in the All-Star Game, but if he does he should be a candidate to start for the American League.

And, while he’s ending his first half on a high, the Orioles’ offense is need of an energy boost before play pauses.

On Tuesday, the Orioles scored just two runs, none after the third, in their loss to the Cubs. A day later, they fell even further behind as they failed to cross home plate against Imanaga, despite getting six hits off him in six innings.

They had a chance in the sixth, when Ryan Mountcastle singled and Jordan Westburg hit a deep double off the left field wall. The opportunity was over quickly, as Austin Hays struck out looking and Jorge Mateo struck out swinging.

“I was really impressed by him,” manager Brandon Hyde said of Imanaga. “I think you give him credit for pitching really, really well. I thought our swings were a little big.”

The Orioles put more men on base in the last three innings as well but once again came up empty.

“I just think at times we are getting a little too big, trying to get the big hit,” Hyde said. “I think it’s going to turn around for us. We just have to relax a little bit.”

There are four games left for the Orioles to turn it around to end the first half on a high note, but it’s not getting easier. Baltimore will play the Cubs one more time Thursday, then will host the Yankees for the last time this season for a three-game series beginning Friday. The Orioles have a two-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East.