LOS ANGELES -- August didn’t go great for Corbin Burnes. That won’t matter if the Orioles’ All-Star ace can regroup, pitch well in September and lead his club deep into October.

Despite mixed results on Wednesday night, Burnes showed signs that he could get back on track when the calendar turns.

Burnes allowed six runs (only one of which was earned) vs. the Dodgers while taking the loss in a 6-4 defeat at Dodger Stadium. Baltimore’s defense didn’t do the right-hander many favors, committing a season-high-tying three errors, all coming while Burnes was in the game.

Here’s a positive: Burnes’ stuff still looks good, and manager Brandon Hyde said as much before and after the contest. Burnes generated 19 whiffs, tied for his second most in an outing this year and one shy of his season high (20 on April 26 vs. the A’s). He had a season-low six in his previous outing vs. the Astros on Thursday.

“I think it was a step in the right direction. We threw the ball pretty well,” Burnes said. “Cutter command was better again today and got it down in the zone, and I think we took a positive step there with some swing-and-miss and some weak contact.”

Los Angeles had only two hits off Burnes that registered an exit velocity of 100 mph or greater, per Statcast. However, both were home runs.

The first homer that Burnes allowed came against the first batter he faced. Shohei Ohtani opened the bottom of the first inning with his National League-high 42nd home run of the season, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

The second homer was more costly, as Burnes was one pitch away from escaping a two-on, two-out jam in the third. Instead, he hung a 2-2 curveball that was then jolted a Statcast-projected 431 feet for a go-ahead three-run blast by Teoscar Hernández. It capped a four-run frame for Los Angeles that began with an error by third baseman Ramón Urías.

The Dodgers pushed their lead to 6-4 in the fifth on two O’s errors -- one by catcher James McCann that allowed Ohtani to move to third following a stolen base and another by shortstop Gunnar Henderson that let Ohtani score and Gavin Lux reach first with two outs in the inning.

“You're going to make errors, and we made a couple errors tonight that led to some runs, but had some opportunities to get out of it, too,” Hyde said. “I thought Burnesy had good stuff again.”

It was the fourth time in Burnes’ five August starts that he allowed five or more runs. He never yielded more than four in any of his first 22 outings for the Orioles from March-July.

Burnes had a 7.36 ERA in August. His 27 runs allowed marked his most in any calendar month during his seven-year MLB career, and the 21 earned runs he gave up tied for his most (March/April 2019, with the Brewers).

“I guess they are related in a way that there’s one big inning every time, which we did a good job of kind of avoiding throughout most of the year,” Burnes said. “Outside of those one big innings every time, they’re pretty good outings. So just have to find a way to minimize and not leave balls up in the zone, it’s just kind of what has hurt me the last couple. But tonight was definitely better than the last two.”

Baltimore’s rotation is expected to get reinforcements soon. Zach Eflin (right shoulder inflammation) could be back as soon as Sunday, and the right-hander was terrific over his first four starts for the club. Grayson Rodriguez (right lat/teres strain) may also return in September.

Still, the O’s went out and traded for Burnes in February because they envisioned him leading them on a deep postseason run in October. And they still believe that is going to happen.

“You’re not going to be really good for six months straight,” Hyde said. “You’re going to go through ups and downs individually.”

There have been plenty of overall ups and downs of late for the Orioles, who haven’t won three straight since July 14-20 and haven’t lost three straight since July 21-24.

The O’s (77-57) remain one game behind the Yankees (78-56) in the American League East, and they’ll have an opportunity to win the series against the MLB-best Dodgers (79-54) in Thursday’s rubber game.

“It’s a long season, and I think we’re showing signs of being able to kind of come out of the funk that we’re in,” Burnes said. “The last week has been better, but I think we still definitely have some better baseball to play, and I think we’re close. I think we’re close to where we want to be.”