BALTIMORE -- The big hit eluded the Orioles once again. When J.T. Realmuto blasted the first of his two home runs in the third inning to put the Marlins up by four, Baltimore found itself in an early hole.
The Orioles had their chances to flip the script, but behind a quality start from former Orioles pitcher Wei-Yin Chen and two home runs from Realmuto, Baltimore was outdone by Miami Saturday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, 5-4, to extend the Orioles' losing streak to nine -- matching a nine-game skid in the 2011 season.
"It's very frustrating for me -- for them -- to see them not getting back what they're putting into it," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "You'd think at some point the game's going to let them up a little bit. But nobody's going to feel sorry for you. They step on your neck when you're down and we did the same to other clubs. We've got to figure out a way to get back into that mode."

The loss wasn't for a lack of opportunities, which plagued the team on Friday. The Orioles, who notched 11 hits, came up empty twice with Trey Mancini at the plate in the midst of a rally. With runners in scoring position in the both third and seventh innings and Mancini up to bat, he grounded out to end the Baltimore rallies.
Jonathan Schoop, ice-cold as of late, tallied his first RBI in 18 at-bats with a solo home run in the sixth inning, while Manny Machado collected two RBIs of his own. But without hits in big moments, it was all for naught.

"Yeah, we had a shot. The fourth inning on, we pitched real well. Everybody," Showalter said. "I thought that was an impressive finish of his outing with [Alex Cobb]. He struggled a little bit early with his fastball command, but he gave us a good chance. A lot of guys pull the dirt around them there, but he battled his way through seven innings. That part of it was pretty impressive. But the big hit just eluded us again."
Cobb took his team-leading ninth loss of the season, giving up five runs on seven hits in seven innings. The Marlins led off the first and second inning with doubles on Cobb's first pitch in both innings, and came around to score each time. When Realmuto followed up with a solo shot and two-run blast later in the game to give Miami a 5-2 lead, the Orioles had to do something they have accomplished just once since May 24 -- score at least five runs.
"When you have a good hitter up there, you can't fall behind to those guys and then give them a cookie down the middle," Cobb said of Realmuto. "They're gonna do [something good] with it. Yeah, it's frustrating that it was one guy, but it was more frustrating that I let him win the at-bats before he actually hit the home run."
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Mancini can't make the most: Down 5-4, with two outs and runners on the corners in the bottom of the seventh, Mancini let the chance to play hero fall through his fingertips, grounding out to short on a ball that had a good chance to tie the game. Mancini, visibly upset, spiked his helmet in frustration as he was thrown out at first.

HE SAID IT
"It's a tough one. I actually felt, stuff-wise, was pretty good. Just a few fastballs that I left over the middle of the plate that didn't come back that really ended up being the difference maker. So I've got to build off being able to go deep in that game -- which was nice -- and the stuff being pretty good. So I've got to harness those two things and clean up the rest." -- Cobb, on fighting through to finish seven innings
SOUND SMART
Schoop's sixth-inning blast was the 18th-straight solo shot by the Orioles. The team has not hit a multi-run home run since Pedro Alvarez hit a two-run homer against the Red Sox in a 6-3 loss on May 19. The Giants hold the record with 21-straight solo home runs, set in 2011.
UP NEXT
The Orioles will send staff ace Dylan Bundy to the mound, looking get a win on the homestand in the series finale against the Marlins. Bundy will be opposed by Trevor Richards, who is 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA in his last three starts. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.