BALTIMORE -- Should the Orioles figure themselves a serious postseason contender in this final stretch -- and they do -- their offense will need to be a more daunting force. And they know it.

Pitching has been the backbone of Baltimore’s breakout season, one that now has the team moving in and out of an AL Wild Card spot. But two consecutive games have shed further light on the precarious nature of not backing it up with bountiful run support.

The Orioles lost, 3-2, to the Cubs in Thursday’s makeup game at Camden Yards, seeing starter Spenser Watkins’ continued revival since returning off the injured list go for naught. Baltimore was held to just three baserunners through the first five innings against Chicago starter Adrian Sampson, who hadn’t won a game in nearly a year, with late-inning rallies against the Cubs' bullpen falling by the wayside.

A day earlier, the Orioles had seen a starter come off the injured list and throw six perfect innings against them. On Sunday, a starter on a workload limit threw eight perfect frames against them.

“You want to go out and give your team the best chance and hand it over to a bullpen that's done a great job all year,” Watkins said. “These bats are never out of a game. You put together a performance and you know what your team can do. Today is just one of those days. It happens. I'll trust my bullpen over anybody else, I'll trust my bats over everybody else.”

The Orioles, now losers of four of their last six to fall two games back of the final Wild Card spot as of the final out on Thursday, appear hungry for a spark. Their 497 runs scored on the year have them situated at 19th in the Majors, behind postseason afterthoughts like Arizona, Texas, Boston and Colorado. Their .693 team OPS ranks 21st.

Could some breakouts and rejuvenation across the batting order be on the horizon? Could a spark from the outside -- namely, from the burgeoning top-rated farm system -- be coming?

For now, at least, the focus is inward.

“I think we discussed -- stay with it,” said manager Brandon Hyde, who tinkered with his lineup on Thursday by sliding a struggling Austin Hays to seventh. “You just got to grind it out. I mean, there's nothing you can do [to forcefully shake things up]. You're going to keep putting the work in, and hopefully we get out of it here pretty quick.”

Watkins has had a penchant for snake-bitten luck. In nine outings (eight starts) since coming off the injured list with a right forearm contusion, he’s pitched to a 2.81 ERA. The Orioles are 5-4 in those games, and have scored two runs or fewer five times.

On Wednesday, Austin Voth faced just three baserunners while throwing six shutout innings. Toronto scored immediately upon his exit; the Orioles didn’t score until the eighth.

“It's obviously easier to pitch when you have some breathing room,” Hyde said, “and we're not having a ton of breathing room right now.”

"We want to get more hits, want to get on base more, score more runs,” added first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who was thrown out at home at a big moment in the eighth. “But it's a tough game. These pitchers are really good. Hopefully we can figure it out down the stretch here."

Baltimore has lost only six games in August, and their 10-6 record has them on pace for a third consecutive winning month. But in those loses, they have combined to score just 10 runs, and arguably tougher to swallow, have rattled off just 32 hits.

The front office has kept open the notion of promotions for top prospect Gunnar Henderson, who played first base for the first time on Thursday, and outfielder Kyle Stowers is in conversations “daily.” Should or should not either of those highly regarded prospects break into the Majors this season, the team they’d be joining knows there’s a higher example to set.

"I don't know. It is what it is,” Mountcastle said. “Hopefully, we have a big homestand here against Boston. Hopefully, we put together better at-bats early in the game and get out tomorrow with a lead."