By the time the Orioles boarded their flight to Baltimore late Thursday afternoon, they were dreaming of, and pining for, home. The road has proven a dark and barren place, fruitless for six full weeks now. And frustration is setting in.

The latest example came on Thursday afternoon, when the Orioles completed their winless seven-game road trip with a 10-3 loss to the Indians at Progressive Field, suffering their 19th consecutive road defeat and sixth straight series sweep on the road. They are the second team in 2021 (along with the D-backs) and eighth in the modern era to lose at least 19 consecutive road games.

• Box score

“We’re very frustrated,” Trey Mancini said. “Nobody likes losing. I’m at the top of the list. We’re all super competitive and this is really tough, especially when you go 0-7 on a road trip. It’s really tough. But there is no room to wallow at this level. You need to go out the next day and put it behind you. What’s done is done.”

Said manager Brandon Hyde: “Nobody is going to feel sorry for us.”

Their most recent road loss followed a more or less pedestrian script, capping a four-game series that was defined more by weirdness and sloppy play. The Orioles fell down early behind Jorge López, who surrendered a season-high three homers on his way to allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings. Baltimore responded with homers from Austin Hays and Maikel Franco off of starter Eli Morgan, but managed little else against five Cleveland relievers while the Indians piled on against the O’s ‘pen.

It was something of a step backward for López, who showed flashes of turning a corner last month but has now allowed five runs in each of his past two starts. The right-hander’s ERA is up to 5.95 in 14 starts. 

“I fall behind in the count, and every time I do that I get hurt,” López said. “I have to get better. I have to get better. This can’t happen.”

Alas, it keeps happening. López is far from the only culprit. Orioles starters pitched to an 8.73 ERA (32 ER in 33 IP) on the road trip, while the offense averaged 3.1 runs per game. The defense struggled as well, prompting Hyde to essentially toss up his hands when asked about their fielding issues early Thursday. 

“You have the personnel you have, and you do the best you can with teaching and work and it’s up to them to perform,” Hyde said before the game. “You do the best you can with what you have.”

Hours later, losing streaks were again the subject of the postgame conversation. It’ll pause now at least until June 24, with Baltimore set to open a six-game homestand against Toronto and Houston on Friday. The club’s last road win came on May 5, the day of John Means’ no-hitter. 

“I think we’ve tried to regroup on numerous occasions this year,” Hyde said. “This is a tough league and good teams expect to come in and beat us. And we need to respond and continue to grind. And hopefully we can get out of this."

Taking stock
The Orioles have been excited by the progress of Rule 5 righty Tyler Wells, who has trimmed his ERA nearly three full runs, to 3.77, over the past several weeks. But the results are less encouraging for Mac Sceroler, the other right-hander they selected in last year’s Rule 5 Draft.

Opportunities for Sceroler have been few and far between, after the righty spent two months on the injured list with a shoulder issue. He made his second appearance -- and first in eight days -- since returning Thursday, allowing three runs in an inning of mop-up relief. The outing swelled Sceoler’s ERA to 16.20 in his first four big league appearances. Like Wells, he hadn’t pitched above Double-A prior to this season. 

“I just see a guy who is pretty inexperienced at the upper levels,” Hyde said. “It’s not just about stuff here. You need to command the ball. Today was a tough situation for him. He hasn’t pitched in a while. He gets sporadic outings, so it’s not easy.”