BALTIMORE -- With the light at the end of their grueling tunnel of a June schedule on the horizon, the Orioles find themselves in a mini-rut. They’ve lost a season-high four straight games after dropping Monday’s series opener, 3-2, to the Guardians at Camden Yards.

José Ramírez’s go-ahead homer off Cade Povich in the sixth proved the difference on a night Baltimore’s franchise-record streak of consecutive games with a homer also came to an end.

“I think we’ve faced some pretty good arms these past few games,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “And it doesn’t get much easier tomorrow.”

Here are some important numbers that help explain what happened Monday and where the Orioles are right now as they near the midway point of the season.

4

Not only is Baltimore’s four-game losing streak a season high, but it matches their longest skid from the 2023 season (twice), and their longest since September 12-15, 2023. After being held in check by the Astros’ top two starters over the weekend, the Orioles mustered little against Tanner Bibee and three Cleveland relievers on Monday, managing only two baserunners and no hits from the third inning on.

It’s a rough little patch for Baltimore’s high-flying lineup, which leads the Majors in runs and homers. They’ve scored only four runs in the past three games combined.

The Orioles haven’t lost five in a row since a six-game skid from May 13-18, 2022.

22

About that homer streak. Monday’s loss was the Orioles’ first homer-less game since May 31, snapping their franchise record of 22 consecutive games with at least one homer. The O’s previous record of 20 straight was set in 1998 (July 17-Aug. 9), while the AL/NL record for consecutive games with a homer is 31, set by the Yankees in 2019 (May 26-June 30).

“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised,” said Gunnar Henderson, who is on pace to hit about 50 homers in his sophomore season. “I’ve played with these guys a lot, and I’ve seen what they can do at the plate, especially at the Minor League level. I knew it was a matter of time until they got their feet under them, and really showcased their power. I feel like it’s kinda showing.”

9-2

Monday’s defensive highlight (not including fan catches) came from Anthony Santander, who unleashed a long throw from right field to cut down Daniel Schneeman trying to score on Gabriel Arias’ flyout in the fourth. The exact distance of Santander’s heave was not available, but Arias’ ball traveled 268 feet off the bat, so that’s a decent approximation of where Santander was starting from.

“Amazing,” Povich said. “I was backing up, saw the throw, and I was surprised [the runner] was still on his way coming home.”

Per Statcast, Santander’s average arm strength on competitive throws is 88.3 mph, good for 77th percentile among MLB outfielders. They are among the best numbers of Santander’s career in both metrics.

4.15

Povich’s big league ERA through four starts. It’s been a bit of a mixed bag so far for Povich, the Orioles’ No. 9 prospect, since joining the big league rotation amid Baltimore’s rash of starting pitching injuries. He looked dominant throwing six scoreless innings in his home debut against Atlanta on June 12. But he’s now allowed 10 earned runs across 15 2/3 innings in his other three outings.

He’s showed the ability to miss bats but also inconsistent command, issuing nine walks over two of those outings and only one combined in the other two. Povich issued only one walk Monday, when he struck out five and allowed three runs. His pitch count at 46 after two innings, Povich settled down to complete 5 2/3 innings on 95 pitches.

“I battled,” he said. “Today was probably one of the better command games that I’ve had.”

“He showed much better command this time out,” Hyde said. “I thought he threw the ball great.”