Here's how O's can rebound from sweep

Even before the Orioles fell back to .500 with Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Blue Jays in the series finale, the baseball world didn’t completely believe their buzz. Just peek at what they were saying at FanGraphs, which, as of Wednesday morning, had given Toronto a 12 percent better chance at reaching the postseason than Baltimore, despite having a worse record.

Consider it the type of outside noise the Orioles have been pledging to avoid for weeks as they’ve played their way into perhaps the feel-good story of this truncated 60-game season. It is also the kind of doubt that’s bound to grow after Wednesday’s matinee, when poor situational hitting, sloppy baserunning and two more Randal Grichuk homers led to their fourth straight loss and a three-game sweep at Toronto’s hands.

• Box score

“We shot ourselves in the foot early on by making mistakes on the bases and having a poor approach with runners in scoring position, and then had a tough time getting back in the game,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Today just wasn’t one of our best games.”

All of which puts the Orioles at a crossroads heading into this weekend’s four-game series against the Red Sox, their second series in what could be a pivotal 14-game stretch against American League East clubs. Is this surprise start sustainable? Can the rebuilding Orioles stay in this thing? Here are four developments that will be required for them to do so:

1. Keep the bats burning
Twenty-four games into the schedule, it’s been the white-hot Anthony Santander -- who extended his hit streak to 14 games on Wednesday -- garnering most of the headlines, and for good reason. But contributions have come from up and down the lineup from a unit that ranks first among AL teams in average, second in slugging, and third in OBP and runs scored.

The Orioles' problem on Wednesday was their 2-for-11 showing with runners in scoring position, ending promising rallies in the first, second, fifth and ninth innings. They stranded 22 runners over the three-game series; before this, they had done well turning opportunities into runs. The challenge now will be to resume that with key hitters Jose Iglésias and Austin Hays sidelined by injury.

“When we were winning, we were stringing five, six, seven at-bats together and putting up some crooked numbers,“ said Pat Valaika, who singled home one of Baltimore’s two runs on Wednesday. “Lately it’s been a little hit-or-miss on that.”

2. Get better starts
By striking out seven over six innings of three-run ball on Wednesday, Tommy Milone gave the Orioles something they’d lacked: a quality start. It was just their second in 24 games, fewest of any team other than Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay. Besides Alex Cobb, the 33-year-old journeyman has been the most durable and consistent piece of a rotation that ranks 16th in innings and 24th in ERA. That will have to change if the O’s are going to contend without overworking their improved relief corps.

“As a starter, with the shortened Summer Camp, we were going to slowly make our way up to six or seven innings,” Milone said. “Now that we have four or five starts under our belts, I think, it’s time for us starters to go deeper in games and take the pressure off the bullpen.”

3. Keep Crush out
Somewhat quietly, the Orioles have relegated Chris Davis to the bench after weeks of him struggling near the bottom of the lineup. So far in limited duty, his at-bats have not been productive, from his strikeout against Daniel Hudson on Sunday to punchouts in his first two at-bats on Wednesday, on seven pitches. This season he is hitting .122 without a homer and a 31 percent strikeout rate.

• O's like Sisco in leadoff, this time as catcher

Sitting Davis simply makes the lineup more flexible and dynamic, and the Orioles seem willing to stick with this plan going forward. It’s allowed them to get the hot-hitting Chance Sisco and Pedro Severino in the lineup simultaneously and without losing at-bats from Renato Núñez, as well as get such veterans as Iglésias off their feet occasionally. The whole offense has been better for it.

4. Call up Mountcastle
With every passing day, the opportunity for the Orioles’ more advanced prospects to have an impact on this 60-game season dwindles. But with every passing win, the argument for the O’s to have their best players in the fold gets more valid. Ryan Mountcastle, their No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, certainly fits the bill from a talent perspective, and with playing Davis no longer a priority, Hyde should be capable of cycling the 23-year-old between left field, first base and DH in order to find him enough at-bats.

Mountcastle remains at the alternate training site in Bowie, Md., where improvement in both plate discipline and defense in left have been the priority. Without Minor League games, Mountcastle’s competitive reps have been limited to Spring Training, Summer Camp and sessions at the alternate training site. There will be a point where the Orioles think his development will benefit from seeing big league pitching, whether they are in the playoff hunt or not.