The look on John Means’ face said it all. Glove out and head cocked to the side, Means tried to avoid looking over his shoulder as he summoned for a new baseball he knew he’d never throw. The cause was clear. His expression was mixed: annoyance, resignation and ambivalence, all wrapped into one.

The good news? The last pitch Means had thrown was in the sixth inning, a place he’d yet to see previously in 2020. The bad? Mets first baseman Pete Alonso had deposited it into the second deck, becoming just the fifth player to send a baseball there in Oriole Park’s history. The loudest of the four runs Means allowed in Wednesday’s 9-4 loss to the Mets was also the latest hiccup in a year that’s been difficult in every respect for the O's left-hander.

• Box score

“I was concerned after my first start,” Means said. “I don’t like losing. I don’t like getting hit, and that’s what’s happening. I’m just trying the best I can to get back to feeling good and feeling right, and I’m confident I can get there.”

Pitching without restriction for the first time this year due to left arm trouble and the death of his father, Means was befallen by Michael Conforto’s two-run homer in the first, Conforto’s RBI double in the fifth and Alonso’s solo shot in the sixth for his third loss in six starts. He struck out just one and allowed eight hits, throwing 81 pitches over 5 1/3 innings before New York piled on against Baltimore's bullpen.

More troubling for the Orioles weren’t the particulars of the outing; it’s that every time out, Means seems to be battling something different. For weeks, he bemoaned his inability to command his signature changeup. Wednesday, it was the heater that gave him fits. And despite what was objectively Means’ best stat line of this 60-game sprint of the season, time to turn it around is running out.

Last year, Means made the American League All-Star team by going 7-4 with a 2.50 ERA in 18 first-half games (14 starts). He’s made 19 starts since then, going 5-10 with a 5.56 ERA. He is missing fewer bats and surrendering significantly more hard contact despite increased velocity this year, owning a 8.10 ERA across 20 innings.

"The fastball command was horrible,” Means said. “That was the worst fastball command I think I’ve ever had. But other than that, my body feels good and I’m confident I can fix the fastball command.”

Said Orioles catcher Pedro Severino: “I’ve never seen him like that. John is a great pitcher, and he usually commands every pitch, especially his changeup. That didn’t even work today. That’s frustrating, because we know how good he is and nothing worked today.”

Núñez deemed day to day
The Orioles might be without their regular cleanup hitter for at least a little while, after slugger Renato Núñez suffered a hamstring injury midway through Wednesday’s loss. After grounding to third off David Peterson in the fifth, Núñez appeared to come up limp running down the first-base line. He was lifted in the top of the seventh inning for Dilson Herrera, who flew out and struck out in his first two plate appearances as an Oriole.

Speaking after the game, manager Brandon Hyde did not specify which hamstring Núñez injured on the play. He also classified Núñez as day to day, which would be best-case scenario for the Orioles given the extended nature of most hamstring injuries. Baltimore is already playing without everyday second baseman Hanser Alberto, who has sat out the past two games with a minor knee issue. Núñez is hitting .270 with nine homers and an .857 OPS through 35 games.

Cole in the stocking
A change of role did not reverse the fortunes of Cole Sulser, who was charged with four runs (three earned) on Wednesday in his first outing since being removed from closing duties last week. Entering a two-out, two-on situation in while facing a 4-2 deficit in the seventh, Sulser immediately allowed another two-run double to Conforto. He then let four of six batters reach in the eighth, surrendering run-scoring hits to Jake Marisnick and Jeff McNeil.

It was the third consecutive multirun appearance for Sulser, who's watched his ERA balloon from 3.46 to 5.94 in the last 11 days. He’s also issued seven walks in five innings over that stretch.

“I would've loved for him to go out there and pitch one-plus innings of shutout baseball,” Hyde said. “He’s disappointed in his command as well. This is someone who didn’t walk people in the Minor Leagues. He’s still trying to figure things out command wise.”