LOS ANGELES — His bat slammed into the dirt near home plate.
He had looked at strike one, a 2-0 cutter right down the middle. He watched another strike and then fouled off two pitches. And then Gunnar Henderson — the young star who appears to be feeling the weight of that role — swung through another cutter from right-hander Blake Treinen to end the inning.
There went Henderson’s bat, into the dirt. There went the best opportunity of the night for the Orioles to climb back into the game, stranding bases loaded. And, as August nears a close, there was another example of Baltimore’s offense failing to come through in the biggest moments.
Henderson isn’t alone in this skid, although he was at the center of it during Thursday’s series-ending 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Baltimore’s lineup as a whole entered play with a .232 average this month — tied for the fifth worst in the majors.
“Battling our butts off, but it’s how the game goes,” Henderson said. “It sucks, but just how it goes.”
If there was ever going to be a breakthrough, the seventh-inning at-bat for Henderson was the time. Against right-hander Daniel Hudson, the Orioles loaded the bases with two outs. The Dodgers turned to Treinen not because of his aptitude against left-handed hitters but because they had no other available southpaws. Anthony Banda had already pitched, and Alex Vesia had pitched the previous two days.
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So there was Treinen, a pitcher whom left-handed hitters held an .814 on-base-plus-slugging percentage against this season. He’s far from a lefty specialist. But the going has been tough in August, and it compounded with that strikeout that leaves Henderson 4-for-his-last-32.
“Probably just need to not try as hard,” Henderson said. “Taking a lot of swings, so just trying to do what I can to help the team. But, yeah, just need to probably take it a little bit easier.”
Henderson said he wanted to wait for the best pitch to hit, and as Treinen was fresh out of the bullpen, Henderson was patient in a 2-0 count. He didn’t consider the cutter and low four-seam fastball for strike two as optimal offerings.
“Obviously, you’re looking for the pitch you want, and top-shelf cutter is probably not the most ideal pitch to swing at,” Henderson said. “So, feel like I was waiting on a good pitch and didn’t really get one.”
Earlier in the game, the three-run home run from rookie outfielder Colton Cowser was a much-needed blast to draw closer. But the Orioles stranded seven runners on base and Cowser’s homer was the lone hit with a runner in scoring position, out of seven opportunities.
Perhaps emblematic of the tepid offense, the Orioles played with the infield in once a runner reached third base in the fourth inning, despite trailing by only a run.
For all the hard contact off Cade Povich, it was a high chopper in the fourth inning that dealt the largest blow. After a bloop single and ground-rule double, Austin Barnes’ ground ball looped over Ramón Urías’ head at third because he was playing in, and it brought home two runs.
“It’s obviously unfortunate, but got to find a way to limit that and limit the stuff leading up to that,” Povich said. “It’s just controlling what you can.”
Another run scored on Mookie Betts’ single that chased Povich from the game, and right-hander Burch Smith allowed an inherited runner to score later in the fourth.
Shohei Ohtani, the superstar and bane of most pitching staffs, finished 0-for-5. But the rest of the Dodgers’ lineup produced against Povich. The rookie starter’s night ended after he allowed 10 hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings.
The bullpen allowed just one run during the three-game series against the Dodgers. The impressive form included left-hander Gregory Soto. His Orioles career began with eight runs against him in his first three games after the trade deadline, but he has thrown 6 1/3 scoreless innings with just one hit against him.
“It would be huge if he could be a weapon for us out of the ’pen,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Stuff is good. He’s done it before. Great to see him have back-to-back really good games.”
That relief corps, which covered 4 2/3 innings Thursday, kept Baltimore in the game, although a run off right-hander Matt Bowman in the eighth extended Los Angeles’ lead to three.
For this offense, a three-run deficit was asking a lot. Too much, it turned out.
“We’re not stringing many hits together right now,” Hyde said. “We scored on a three-run homer after a couple walks. [Anthony] Santander swung the bat well. Cow hit that homer. But we’re just not doing enough offensively against good teams.”
Injury updates
Jordan Westburg took ground balls at third base before the game, continuing his one-handed workouts. The infielder is recovering from a fractured hand and scooped grounders, then flipped the ball with his glove to a nearby bucket.
Westburg is also swinging one-handed in the cage, Hyde said, because he wants to be as ready as possible for when he is able to be activated off the injured list. Hyde said the timeline of mid- to late September is still the expectation for Westburg’s return.
Hyde offered updates for other injured players. Right-hander Zach Eflin (shoulder inflammation) is an option to start Sunday’s game for the Orioles. Eflin said his shoulder feels much improved.
Left-hander Danny Coulombe, a key member of the bullpen who underwent surgery to repair bone spurs in his elbow, is also a candidate to return in late September. He has begun to throw off the mound.
