BALTIMORE -- For the first time this season, the Orioles have lost back-to-back series. The fact that it didn’t happen until the final week of May goes to show how well they’ve played over the first two months of 2023.

But the past six days have been tough. After dropping two of three to Texas at Camden Yards over the weekend, Baltimore did the same vs. Cleveland, which handed the O’s a 12-8 loss in Wednesday afternoon’s series finale that concluded a 2-4 homestand.

The Orioles had a 4-1 lead after two innings and were ahead, 7-6, through four -- following Anthony Santander’s go-ahead two-run homer -- but the Guardians moved in front for good with a five-run rally in the fifth.

Here are three takeaways from the action as Baltimore heads into Thursday’s off-day:

1) The fifth spot in the rotation needs to be solidified
A regularly scheduled bullpen day isn’t the best approach for how the Orioles should handle this spot in their rotation, which belonged to right-hander Grayson Rodriguez before the 23-year-old was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday night. Especially with how much the O’s have depended on their relief corps this year (214 innings, fifth most in the American League).

Austin Voth (who allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings) was supposed to be the bulk reliever behind opener Keegan Akin. But Voth threw fewer pitches (58) than he did in his previous 3 2/3-inning appearance on Friday (62).

Baltimore used seven pitchers, and four of them allowed multiple runs.

“Kind of an off-day for the pitchers today,” Voth said. “Just not executing our pitches.”

Voth can be a strong fifth starter, as he showed while posting a 3.07 ERA over 17 starts for the Orioles last season. But the 30-year-old needs to be stretched out, and his Wednesday outing didn’t help in that regard.

Otherwise, Baltimore’s best option could be to give another opportunity to left-hander Cole Irvin, who is back at Triple-A Norfolk after he was sent down May 21, which made him ineligible to be recalled for 15 days unless serving as an injury replacement.

2) Aaron Hicks had a solid debut -- before an early exit
A day after signing with Baltimore, Hicks started in center field and batted sixth in his debut for the club. But the 33-year-old played only six innings, as he exited prior to the seventh with cramps in his left calf -- a product of him having not played in a game since May 19 with the Yankees but an issue he doesn’t view as a long-term concern.

Before that, Hicks had an encouraging start to his Orioles career. He reached base in all three of his plate appearances, walking in the second and singling in the third and fifth. Hicks was also the first to come home during a four-run rally in the second, and he scored another run in the third.

“I’m excited to be here. It’s an exciting young team, and I’m excited to help them win,” Hicks said. “It’s just about getting into a rhythm for me, hopefully get the opportunity to play every single day while [Cedric] Mullins is out and kind of get going to be able to solidify a spot and understand where I’m at on the team.”

Hicks, who is hitting .211 in 29 games this season, might not quite replicate the production of Mullins, who went on the injured list with a right groin strain on Tuesday. If Hicks continues to play how he did Wednesday, though, he could help offset the loss of Mullins a bit.

3) An off-day has arrived at a much-needed time
The bullpen needs a breather. The Orioles could use a minor reset. A day off on Thursday is an opportune time for both to happen before Baltimore opens a six-game National League road trip that begins Friday in San Francisco and continues in Milwaukee next week.

The O’s (35-21) aren’t concerned about their struggles in recent days, considering they still went 16-12 in May despite playing a plethora of top competition (22 of 28 games against teams that currently have winning records).

“We played really well this month,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “These last two series weren’t our best -- those are going to happen. We’re not going to win every series the rest of the year. We’re going to have tough games. We’re going to have tough games on the mound, and we’re going to have tough games at the plate.

“But I think, for the most part, this month, I was really happy with how we played, and hopefully we can start off the month of June on the right note.”