MILWAUKEE – Tony Mansolino finally got a good night’s rest.

Baltimore’s interim manager showed a vulnerable side, sitting in the visitor’s dugout at American Family Field Monday afternoon, waxing about what an anxiety-filled weekend it had been. Brandon Hyde was fired Saturday morning, leaving the third base coach in charge for the foreseeable future.

Mansolino spent most of Saturday night staring at the ceiling, his heart beating too fast to let his eyelids shut, burdened by the pressure of piloting the American League East cellar dwellers.

After dropping his first two games by a combined 10 runs, Mansolino boarded the team plane Sunday night seeking a fresh start.

He opened up a thick binder, his new handbook, and mulled through scouting strategy for his first full series as a major league manager.

“I think that exercise just strangely settled me down,” Mansolino said, a bit bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after a full night’s rest.

Still, the Orioles lost their seventh straight game, 5-4 to the Brewers. A comeback to no avail, decided by a bat-spike-worthy RBI single from William Contreras in the eighth inning that scored Brice Turang. That one, off reliever Yennier Cano, capped a difference-making 4-for-4 night.This is no longer a season about championship contention. Playoff hopes would take a miracle. Now 15-31 on the season and 3-13 in May, the tenor has changed. Mansolino said his focus is getting to .500 for the sake of respectability. The Orioles are just trying to get by.

Monday night’s loss didn’t contribute to the cause — a worthy battle but a loss all the same.

Right-handed starter Dean Kremer’s day ended after 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six, walked a pair, and allowed nine hits and four earned runs. All told, not a disastrous outing for one of Baltimore’s closer-to-reliable starters. Mansolino had the bullpen lined up the way he hoped after pulling Kremer. But for much of this season, four runs against has been a death knell for the Orioles, who are 5-29 when giving up that many in a game.

Milwaukee mustered three runs in the second thanks to RBI singles from Caleb Durbin and Turang. Contreras doubled sharply to center for a fourth run. And Contreras’ eighth-inning swing was the final blow. Mansolino said there was a discussion about walking the two-time All-Star, but he liked Baltimore’s chances of scoring one run in the ninth and thought putting Contreras on base might lead to two.

“We bet on our guy (Cano), it didn’t work out,” Mansolino said. “We’ll do it again next time.”

Baltimore’s bats kept pace but couldn’t get over the hump of a comeback.

Ramon Laureano homered in the second inning. It was the first Orioles lead in the Mansolino era. Then Cedric Mullins blasted a game-tying three-run home run to right field in the seventh inning. There was one pocket of orange seated behind the visitor’s dugout. Those traveling fans stood clapping for the entirety of Mullins’ trot around the bases and off the field.

Those same fans clutched their chairs with the speedy Mullins on in the ninth after a leadoff walk. Dylan Carlson’s bunt attempt was caught in foul territory for the first out. Mullins advanced anyway, stealing second base.

A pinch-hitting Adley Rutschman flied to left, and Jackson Holliday did the same for the final out to cement Baltimore’s seventh loss in six days.

Even still, Mansolino feels like he’s getting his feet under him in his new role. He hasn’t been a manager since 2019 when he helmed Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate. Three games in, he said it’s starting to slow down for him, sounding more like a prospect seeing major league heat for the first time.

“Just in terms of thinking through the game and trying to be a couple of innings ahead,” Mansolino said.

He gave a nod to his staff, saying, “They’re making sure that we don’t miss something. They’re on top of it. I’m getting closer to being on top of it. But, yeah, a few days into this, it’s definitely slowing down a little bit.”

Postgame analysis: The Orioles showed some fight, even if it wasn’t enough to get the job done. This is three straight days of rallies in the back half of a game. On Saturday, they scored six runs between the seventh and ninth innings. On Sunday, all four runs came in the fifth inning or later. Monday’s game-tying rally happened in the seventh. That’s not to say Hyde’s firing was a catalyst, but it’s clear this team is showing some sense of urgency, particularly since general manager Mike Elias took a big swing in addressing this team’s woes.

What they’re saying: Kremer on the managerial turnover this weekend:

“First, I want to thank Hyde and Cuzzy (Tim Cossins) for what they’ve done for the past several years. They were awesome. They treated us with love and respect and we love and respect them back. We have their back more than anything could be portrayed. But Tony Manso, for me, personally, he’s one of my favorite coaches on this staff. Love him to death. He knows when to keep it real and when not to. I know a lot of guys have his back, and same thing goes with everybody else on this staff. It wouldn’t have mattered who they decided to put in that role. We trust them, and we think our staff is good enough to lead any team.”

By the numbers: Laureano, a righty, clubbed his sixth homer of the season Monday night. The rest of the Orioles’ right-handed hitters have combined for 10 home runs this season. Laureano is slashing .395/.452/.737 in his past 11 games with seven extra-base hits — three of which he launched over the fence.

Around the horn

Right-handed pitcher Chayce McDermott joined the Orioles’ taxi squad on Monday. Left-handed reliever Keegan Akin will open Tuesday’s game and McDermott will follow.

There is no clear timetable for outfielder Colton Cowser (fractured thumb) to come off the injured list and begin a rehab assignment. But Mansolino said pregame that he thinks “it’s coming quicker than we think.”

Rutschman did not start Monday night, only the second time he hasn’t been in the lineup this season. Mansolino said it was a planned rest day. He pinch hit for Maverick Handley in the ninth.

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