WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Baltimore Orioles dug themselves such a deep hole in the first two months that every game feels more important than a typical regular-season contest.

The Orioles have no margin for error. That means losing two straight games to the Athletics — the American League’s second-worst team that entered the weekend having dropped 20 of its past 22 games — is almost untenable.

When Orioles starter Charlie Morton allowed four runs in the first inning Saturday night, it could have washed away all the positive momentum this team carried with it after winning its sixth straight game Thursday. A month ago, this game would’ve devolved into just another embarrassing loss in one of the most ignominious seasons in Baltimore baseball history.

But this might not be the same team anymore, and its comeback win, 7-4 over the A’s, is the latest example.

Morton’s bullpen picked him up to pitch 6 2/3 scoreless innings. The offense scored in five of nine innings. Colton Cowser hit a 455-foot moonshot for the farthest homer of his career. And two plays at the plate went the Orioles’ way — the first on a perfect relay that ended with a tag from catcher Maverick Handley, the second on an incredibly athletic slide from Gunnar Henderson.

Baltimore is 26-37 and winners of 10 of its past 13 games. The Orioles were 13 games under .500 when they fired manager Brandon Hyde and 18 games under just two weeks ago.

Now, there’s a glimmer of hope that the Orioles can make the arduous climb back into playoff contention. They’re 7 1/2 games back of a wild-card spot with 99 games remaining. They’ll have to win at least 60% of those games to have a chance of playing in October.

Ryan O’Hearn opened the game at Sutter Health Park — a minor league park serving as the temporary home of the Athletics (25-41) after their owner moved the team out of Oakland — with a sacrifice fly to put Baltimore up 1-0. Morton quickly gave that away.

The first four batters reached base against the 41-year-old right-hander, who had appeared to get his season back on track in May with a 3.98 ERA. But he unraveled Sunday, allowing an RBI single to Jacob Wilson (who raised his average to .370), another to Willie MacIver, an RBI walk to JJ Bleday and an infield hit to Max Schuemann.

Morton, whose ERA rose to 6.59, needed 40 pitches to escape the first but was pulled when he got back into trouble in the third. Matt Bowman, who last pitched 10 days ago, relieved Morton and delivered his best performance as an Oriole. The Chevy Chase native pitched 2 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings, bridging the game from Morton to the top arms in Baltimore’s bullpen.

Ramón Laureano cut the Orioles’ deficit to one in the fourth with a two-run blast against the team for which he spent the first six years of his career playing. Henderson tied the game in the fifth with an RBI single to score Adley Rutschman, who reached base with a two-out double.

Keegan Akin relieved Bowman with two outs in the fifth and the game tied at 4, quickly allowing a double to Lawrence Butler that resulted in a collision at home plate between Bleday and Handley. Left fielder Dylan Carlson, who didn’t corral a catchable fly ball in the first inning that allowed Morton’s inning to spiral, teamed up with Henderson to deliver a strike to Handley at the plate. Handley had to move in front of home plate to catch the throw, and a sliding Bleday knocked the catcher over as he made the tag and held onto the ball. Athletics manager Mark Kotsay challenged that Handley was obstructing the plate, but the call stood after replay review.

In the sixth, Cowser clobbered his second home run since returning from the injured list Tuesday. Another run scored on an error on a grounder hit by Jackson Holliday. Laureano smacked an RBI single in the seventh — his third hit of the night — for insurance that wasn’t needed. Third base coach Buck Britton sent Henderson home even though Bleday, the left fielder, fielded the ball before Henderson reached third base. Henderson rewarded Britton’s faith by sprinting home and sliding headfirst and reaching out his left arm to avoid the tag at the plate.

Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto, Andrew Kittredge and Félix Bautista combined to pitch four scoreless innings to seal the victory. Bautista’s save is his 12th of the season.

Instant analysis

Baltimore fans didn’t want to use injuries as an excuse for the Orioles’ poor play in April and May. That’s understandable. Every team deals with injuries.

But the magnitude of one injury hasn’t been properly understood. Until now, perhaps.

Cowser is probably the Orioles’ second-best player. Behind Henderson, Cowser is the most all-around player on this team — from his defensive ability, speed, power, plate discipline and aura. His ceiling is as high as anybody on the Orioles not named Henderson.

When he fractured his thumb during the fourth game of the season, it was seen as a significant loss, but one that could be overcome. In hindsight, the reaction should’ve been one of panic about losing a player so clearly important to this team’s identity.

Cowser isn’t just another player on this team. He’s a cornerstone.

Up next

It’s been nearly a year since the Orioles won three straight series. The last time was June 27 to July 7 against the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners and the Athletics.

They can do so Sunday afternoon with a win over the Athletics with Tomoyuki Sugano on the mound.

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