BALTIMORE -- Wednesday afternoon brought news that injured Orioles infielders Jordan Westburg (right hand fracture) and Ramón Urías (right ankle sprain) will begin rehab assignments at Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday. Both could bring boosts when they return.

They can’t get back to the big leagues soon enough for a struggling Baltimore squad.

Another disappointing showing for the O’s occurred Wednesday night, when they took a 5-3 loss to the Giants at Camden Yards. San Francisco will be seeking a three-game sweep in Thursday’s finale. Meanwhile, Baltimore still can’t get things going amid its September slump.

The Orioles (84-68) lost for the ninth time in 12 games. They dropped to 16 games above .500 for the first time since May 29, when they were 35-19. Their deficit in the American League East is a season-high five games behind the first-place Yankees. They’re clinging to the top spot in the AL Wild Card standings.

As general manager Mike Elias stated earlier this week, it feels like the O’s early-season “mojo” has “drifted away.” With 10 games remaining in the regular season -- and with the injury reinforcements not yet quite ready -- how can they get it back?

“Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a specific answer right now,” rookie outfielder Colton Cowser said. “We’re going to continue to take it one pitch at a time and continue to try to stack good at-bats together as a lineup. I think momentum is something that just kind of happens. You can’t really force it, because that’s when guys start pressing and you struggle even more.

“I think this last month or so, I think you’ve kind of seen guys try to force it, and I think it’s just something that comes natural. I have all the faith in the world in this team, and just kind of looking forward to when we do get it going.”

On Tuesday, Baltimore was shut out in a game started by left-handed ace Blake Snell (12 strikeouts over six innings of one-hit ball). The club’s bats didn’t fare much better against rookie righty Hayden Birdsong on Wednesday.

Birdsong allowed three runs over 5 2/3 innings. The O’s scored a pair in the third on an RBI double by James McCann and an RBI groundout from Cedric Mullins. In the sixth, Ryan O’Hearn hit a two-out RBI double on the first pitch delivered by left-hander Erik Miller.

“I thought the encouraging thing with tonight’s game a little bit is that I thought that our at-bats were better,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I thought we created more traffic. I thought we walked. Now we’re just waiting for some breaks offensively and a chopper to get through, something off the label to fall in the outfield grass. But we gave ourselves opportunity tonight.”

There wasn’t quite enough support for Orioles starter Dean Kremer, who allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits (including two home runs) over six innings.

Trailing 5-3 in the seventh, the O’s wasted a prime scoring chance, as they had runners on first and second with no outs. The bases became loaded when Heston Kjerstad was hit by a pitch with two outs, but Cowser flied out to left to end the inning. The Orioles then went down in order in both the eighth and the ninth.

Baltimore has scored three or fewer runs in 10 of its past 12 games, plating 24 total runs over that span.

At this point, it’s difficult for the O’s to not feel frustration regarding their play.

“In this game, it’s hard to not let your emotions get the best of you sometimes, but I think, at this level, you kind of have to try to filter yourself and allow yourself to feel those things. But then flush it right away,” Cowser said. “We’re all humans, so it’s natural to have certain responses to certain situations. I think that the important thing is being able to flush those emotions and moving on.”

Perhaps the mojo comes back with the imminent returns of left-hander Danny Coulombe (left elbow surgery), Westburg and Urías, a trio that should be followed by first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (left wrist sprain). All of them continue to be sorely missed.

But with Westburg and Urías set to take a significant step in their recoveries on Thursday, optimism surrounds what could soon be added to the Orioles’ lineup.

“Westy hasn’t played in a while. Ramón, less amount of time. So it’s going to be about at-bats for those guys,” Hyde said. “But I’m encouraged that they’re going out.”