BALTIMORE -- For six innings, the Rays couldn’t get anything going against Orioles starter Dean Kremer. Their offensive production to that point consisted of three walks and Jonathan Aranda being hit by a pitch in the first inning.

Then, seven pitches into the seventh inning, they had a golden opportunity: bases loaded, nobody out. Junior Caminero laced their first hit of the night to left field off Kremer. Dylan Carlson followed with a single to right, and Josh Lowe loaded the bases with a hard grounder that first baseman Ryan O’Hearn couldn’t corral.

But nearly as quickly as it came together against Kremer, Tampa Bay's rally fell apart against reliever Yennier Cano.

Jonny DeLuca and José Caballero went down swinging, Ben Rortvedt popped out on a ball that didn’t make it out of the infield, and the lack of timely hitting was once again Tampa Bay’s undoing in a 2-0 loss to Baltimore on Friday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

“We've got to keep getting guys out there and do everything we can to give ourselves as many opportunities as possible,” manager Kevin Cash said after the Rays were shut out for the seventh time this season and lost for the 10th time in their past 15 games. “But tonight, it certainly didn't come.”

The Rays credited Kremer for his part in shutting them down early, with Cash saying they’ve “always had our fits with him.” And Cash noted that Orioles manager Brandon Hyde “did a good job picking the right spot” for Cano to defuse the bases-loaded jam.

But this has been a recurring issue for the Rays, one largely responsible for their 69-72 record and their standing seven games out of the final American League Wild Card spot.

Their pitching has typically given them a chance to win. Shane Baz did that for six innings in the series opener, allowing two runs (one earned) while throwing a career-high 103 pitches over six innings. But too many nights have ended with Cash and players lamenting the lack of big hits.

“Obviously, pitchers change their stuff to get a little more swing-and-miss stuff early with runners in scoring position. We have to do a better job adjusting to that,” hitting coach Chad Mottola said. “We're going to use this as fuel moving forward, whether it's in the offseason or changing some stuff that we're doing in Spring Training and things like that.”

The numbers back up the feeling behind an unfortunately familiar storyline for the Rays' lineup. After going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position on Friday night, they’re batting a Major League-worst .216 in those scenarios this season.

“The anxiety to become big for the team in those situations, sometimes you just chase some pitches that are outside the zone,” said Caballero, who also struck out with two runners on in the ninth. “We just need to select better pitches to swing at.”

Last year, it all came together for the Rays, as they mashed MLB’s sixth-most home runs and batted .285 with RISP, second only to the Orioles. This season, they haven’t had enough power to make up for their lack of clutch hitting -- they’ve hit 128 homers, tied for third fewest in the Majors -- which, in turn, puts more pressure on them to deliver in situations with men on base.

“You don't want to make an excuse that that's what's going on, but it's a bunch of guys that want to get the job done,” Mottola said. “And the want-to is probably a little bit too high, rather than just taking what the pitcher is giving them and then working back in the count.”

Speaking in the visitors’ dugout before the series opener, Mottola pointed to another situational statistic that played out in the seventh inning later Friday night: Tampa Bay's performance with a runner on third base and fewer than two outs.

Theoretically, those are the easiest scoring opportunities. A ball in the gap could clear the bases. A single could drive in a run or two. A deep-enough fly ball or well-placed grounder could get a run in.

But with a runner on third and fewer than two outs this season, the Rays are hitting .255 -- worst in the Majors, and the Cubs are next at .274. They saw it work against them again in a big spot in the seventh inning Friday night, leading to another frustrating loss.

“We all want to be the guy in that spot. We obviously know the results haven't been there in that spot,” Rortvedt said. “Everybody wants to be in that spot. No one's shying away from it. Just got to let the game come to us, not to get too big, swing at good pitches and really take what they're giving us.”