BALTIMORE -- Gerrit Cole had labored through six sweltering innings in the Inner Harbor on Saturday, struggling to find a grip and regulate his breathing over more than 100 pitches to that point. He animatedly spoke on the visitors’ dugout bench; given the Yankees’ situation on multiple fronts, he wanted the ball for one more.

With a depleted bullpen, manager Aaron Boone nodded, sending Cole back to the hill for the seventh. It was a call that rewrote the night; Cole faced two more batters and both scored, giving the Orioles their first lead as the Yankees dropped a 6-3 decision at Camden Yards -- New York’s eighth loss in 12 games.

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“I don’t know how much I had left in there, but I’ve got to give the boys everything I’ve got,” Cole said. “We were thin. I had to go empty it, man.”

The cumulative effect of Thursday’s doubleheader at Houston and the devastating loss of right-hander Michael King -- one of the league’s best relievers to this point, lost for the season to a right elbow fracture sustained in Friday’s win -- were evident as they spilled over into this contest.

With Aroldis Chapman and Jonathan Loáisiga having pitched on back-to-back days, plus Lucas Luetge and Wandy Peralta also unavailable, Boone said that his choices were to send Cole back out at 102 pitches or hand the ball to Albert Abreu or Shane Greene, intending to keep Clarke Schmidt ready in case of extra innings.

“[Cole] was just reaffirming it, like, ‘Let’s go,’” Boone said. “He wasn’t pleading his case, necessarily. It was more like, ‘You good? Let’s go.’ That’s all we needed.”

In the seventh, Ramón Urías greeted Cole with a double, and Jorge Mateo singled home the tying run. Abreu entered and committed a throwing error on a pickoff attempt at first base, allowing the speedy Mateo to race all the way to third before Cedric Mullins lifted a sacrifice fly that put Baltimore on top for good.

Granted, the Yankees had plenty of opportunities, finishing the evening 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position while leaving 11 men on base -- this, despite a four-hit Aaron Judge performance and yet another Matt Carpenter homer, his 14th.

Even in the ninth, after Greene (making his first Yankees appearance since Sept. 24, 2014) permitted a two-run Urías homer, New York brought the tying run to the plate before Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres and Josh Donaldson all made outs.

“Right now, we could pitch better, we could hit better,” catcher Kyle Higashioka said. “This is one of those times where we’ve got to make the adjustments.”

Perhaps because the stretch was interrupted by the glitz of the Tinseltown All-Star Game, Cole seemed surprised to learn the Yanks have lost eight of 12, remarking, “I didn’t realize that. That’s not very good.”

Zoom out a little further and New York has been a more manageable 16-15 over its last 31 games, though below the precedent set by a club that spent most of the first half lined up against juggernauts like the 1998 Yankees and 2001 Mariners.

“Probably some of the 50/50 games that we came out on top early didn’t go our way [lately],” Cole said. “Certainly, some bounces tonight didn’t go our way.”

No matter how you slice it, this marks the first significant dose of adversity for a club that is still 35 games over .500. Most prominently, general manager Brian Cashman’s roster has not shown it can beat the Astros consistently (2-5 against them this season). That could loom large if, as many expect, they are to meet in October.

“I think my job is always to be concerned,” Cashman said. “I’ve said that many times over the years. My job is to always think the worst and hope for the best, so that’s why the job is to have as many insurance policies lined up from within as you possibly can have, or make sure you can import [talent] as good as you can.”

What might Cashman have in store? According to the YES Network, they’ve spoken with the Nationals about a Juan Soto mega-deal, while Reds ace Luis Castillo is thought to be high on New York’s wish list. Bullpen arms are certainly a focus, and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand has reported that the Yanks are “serious contenders” for Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi.

“I’d like to add anything that could help to improve this roster,” Cashman said. “I certainly am up for the challenge.”