BALTIMORE -- On a damp, overcast Tuesday afternoon at Camden Yards, Orioles general manager Mike Elias sat inside the first-base dugout and expressed belief that brighter days were approaching for his ballclub. His rays of optimism came through in his words.

Elias knows September has been tough for Baltimore -- both its players and its fans. August was challenging, too. In fact, the second half has been difficult as a whole for these O’s.

“We’re going to figure this out, and we’re going to get out of it,” Elias said. “And I think it’s going to start tonight.”

It did not, in fact, start Tuesday night.

The slumping Orioles began their final homestand of the regular season with a disappointing performance. They lost, 10-0, to the Giants in a game dominated by San Francisco left-hander Blake Snell, who allowed one hit and struck out 12 over six masterful innings.

Baltimore (84-67), which previously dropped four of six across road series in Boston and Detroit, lost for the eighth time in 11 games. It fell to 6-8 this month and 26-29 since the All-Star break.

With 11 games to play, the O’s currently sit four games behind the first-place Yankees in the American League East. They remain atop the AL Wild Card standings.

Snell (who now has a 1.33 ERA over his past 13 starts) wasn’t the pitcher the Orioles wanted to see. Not even new walk-up songs -- every batter in the O’s lineup has changed things up in an effort to heat up -- could get Baltimore’s bats out of their slumber.

“He won a Cy Young last year for a reason, and he was just on tonight,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’ve been scuffling offensively, and we had a tough night."

It was far from the first tough night for this team in recent weeks. After getting shut out for the eighth time this season (and for the third time in eight games), the O’s have scored only 21 total runs over their past 11 contests.

The Orioles’ young core hasn’t experienced a prolonged slump like this before. They were successful during the second half of the 2022 season, then went 101-61 en route to winning the AL East title in ‘23. They jumped out to a strong start in ‘24, as they sat 24 games above .500 (49-25) on June 20.

“The mojo that we’ve had, it just has drifted away from us the last few months,” Elias said. “I do think a lot of it is we’ve got people here that are experiencing a downturn -- whether it’s themselves or the team -- for the first time together in this group as this context. A lot of the people doing so are young and inexperienced. A lot of the people are pressing to make up for other people’s absences or their own slumps.”

Baltimore keeps waiting for injury reinforcements. Top left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe (left elbow) is nearing a return. Infielders Ryan Mountcastle (left wrist), Jordan Westburg (right hand) and Ramón Urías (right ankle) are getting closer to rehab games.

In the meantime, the O’s have dropped to 17 games above .500 for the first time since they were 39-22 since June 6.

“It’s been a difficult period, but I think we’re all sick of it and we’re ready to get it behind us,” Elias said. “I really believe that we’re going to rally here down the stretch, kind of get our identity back, and [I’m] hopeful that we’re able to put together a really good appearance in the playoffs. We’ve got to get there first. We’re in a position right now to get there. ...

“This is a group that has accomplished a lot together up until very recently, and it certainly hasn’t shaken my belief in any of them.”

The players haven’t lost belief in themselves, either. The Orioles’ clubhouse, like their GM, remains confident that a breakthrough is coming.

It’s all about peaking at the right time, and Baltimore could still do so in late September or even at the start of October. A World Series run is still on the table.

“It’s definitely still right there in front of us. We’ve just got to do it -- it’s that simple,” center fielder Cedric Mullins said. “These things happen. It’s baseball. I think about teams that have won the World Series in the past years. Take Texas just from last year -- they definitely were not projected to take it all the way, but they did. They hit their hot streak right at the right time.”

Maybe the O’s will, too. They at least think it remains possible.