NEW YORK — By the time "New York, New York" rang through the PA system at Yankee Stadium after the Orioles' 9-3 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday afternoon, they couldn't get out of New York soon enough.
After dropping all three games at Yankee Stadium this week, they were ready to get out of town and head to St. Petersburg, Fla., to face a Tampa Bay Rays team struggling just as much as the Orioles.
The weekend series at the Trop might be well-timed. The Rays have lost 19 of their past 27 games heading into Friday's series opener. The Orioles haven't played much better, dropping 14 of their past 19 contests.
The Orioles' hopes of defending their American League East crown are looking bleak. After being swept in New York, they are seven games behind the first-place Yankees.
Manager Buck Showalter's most memorable line of Thursday's postgame was his insisting that that his team will "punch back" from their current situation. Showalter insists there's no worry inside the clubhouse and said he doesn't question his club's resiliency given the Orioles' perseverance over the previous three seasons.
"I don't look at that," Showalter said. "They've already done enough, the last three or four years, these guys. They don't have to do that all of a sudden. I know what's coming with these guys. There will be better days ahead."
Still, they are also 4½ games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second AL wild card, and there are three teams between them, including the division-rival Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.
The Orioles are 5-14 since their 18-5 stretch through June. A lot has happened since June 28, when the Orioles were 41-34 andleading the AL East. At that point, the Orioles held a season-high 42-percent probability of making the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus.
That probability has dropped dramatically since. The Orioles entered Thursday's game with a 13.2-percent chance of making the postseason, a number that undoubtedly dropped following their latest loss in the Bronx.
Here's the sobering truth. We're still not sure that the Orioles can truly be considered a contender, especially given their 19-30 road record. The Orioles' 19 road wins are tied for the fewest in the AL.
On Friday night, the Orioles will face Rays ace Chris Archer, who boasts a 9-7 record and an impressive 2.73 ERA in 20 starts this season. Archer has lost his last three decisions, posting a 5.61 ERA over his past four starts, so he's struggling.
The Orioles have also had success against Archer this season. He is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts against the Orioles in 2015, having allowed seven earned runs in 11 2/3 innings.
One ray of hope – no pun intended – for the Orioles is that right-hander Chris Tillman takes the mound Friday coming off his strongest start of the season. And honestly, Tillman's eight scoreless innings of one-hit ball Saturday in Detroit might have been the most important start of the season. It came after the Orioles dropped their first game out of the break, losing for the 11th time in 14 contests.
But Tillman dominated a tough Tigers lineup, giving the Orioles a much-needed boost that led to a 3-0 win and propelled them to a series victory at Comerica Park.
Tillman has won his past five decisions and has a 1.40 ERA over his past four starts, a sign that he's turning it around after a wobbly first three months to the season.
The Orioles fell behind in each of the three games in New York, so a strong start by Tillman – as well as some early runs for the O's – is as important as ever as they try to right this ship against Tampa Bay.
eencina@baltsun.com
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