The Orioles and Royals love playing low-scoring games at Camden Yards. Entering Sunday, the two teams combined to score only 23 runs across their previous six contests in Baltimore, including Kansas City’s postseason sweep in October.

So, naturally, the Orioles and Royals combined to blast 11 homers — 10 of which were solo to cap Star Wars Weekend — and tally 17 runs Sunday.

Jackson Holliday, the youngest and most powerful slugger on Sunday, blasted two long balls to lead Baltimore’s bats, but it was Kansas City’s loud lumber that won the day. Orioles pitchers gave up seven homers to spoil the offense’s outburst in an 11-6 loss.

“Yeah, that was a tough day,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I thought we swung the bat well, happy about that, but we had a tough time on the mound keeping the ball in the ballpark.”

Baltimore entered this weekend looking to win consecutive series for the first time this season after it took two of three from the New York Yankees earlier in the week. The Orioles defeated the Royals on Friday but dropped the final two games of the series to fall to 13-20 on the season.

The 11 combined homers on Sunday are the most home runs in an MLB game this season. It also tied the record for a game at Camden Yards since the ballpark opened in 1992.

The game was just the third in MLB history with 10 solo homers. The Royals’ seven long balls marked a franchise record.

Orioles starter Kyle Gibson was much better than his season debut Tuesday versus the Yankees when he surrendered nine runs in 3 2/3 innings.

Gibson gave up three runs (and only one homer to Maikel Garcia) in four innings as Hyde went to his bullpen early with a day off Monday.

Baltimore’s bullpen, which has been perhaps the Orioles’ lone strength this season, betrayed them Sunday, allowing eight runs and six homers. Bryan Baker gave up a solo shot to Jonathan India in the fifth and opened the sixth by allowing another long ball to Garcia.

Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino both homered off Yennier Cano in the seventh for the first earned runs allowed off Cano this season. It marked the first time in the sinkerballer’s career that he surrendered two homers in the same outing.

With the Orioles down only two runs entering the eighth, Hyde brought in the struggling Charlie Morton, who lost each of his first six outings and was demoted to the bullpen as a result. The 41-year-old allowed a solo homer to Luke Maile and an RBI double to Witt to double the Royals’ advantage. Matt Bowman surrendered the final runs in the ninth on a Michael Massey two-run homer.

“We were down two. [Seranthony] Domínguez pitched last night, and I gave [Morton] the bottom of the order,” Hyde said. “He got two quick outs and went 3-0 to the No. 9 hitter [Maile].”

How much longer can the Orioles continue to give Morton (9.76 ERA) opportunities?

“He’s gonna continue to get opportunities,” Hyde said. “We’re gonna try to figure this thing out.”

Before the bullpen’s implosion, the Orioles’ offense fought back each time Kansas City (19-16) took a lead. Holliday answered Garcia’s first homer with a long ball in the second off Royals right-hander Michael Lorenzen. Adley Rutschman gave Baltimore a 2-1 lead in the third with an RBI double to score Gunnar Henderson. After Drew Waters’ two-run single off Gibson in the fourth, the 21-year-old Holliday hit his second homer to become the second-youngest Oriole with a multihomer game, behind only Manny Machado, who did so when he was 20 in 2012. After India’s homer, Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn each smacked solo shots to give the Orioles a 5-4 lead, their last advantage of the matinee.

Holliday, who slumped in early April, has been on a tear over the past three weeks with a .449 on-base percentage and 1.010 OPS. The youngster has been one of the Orioles’ best hitters this season with a .273 average and .783 OPS after his three-hit performance Sunday.

“I’m just trying to go up there relaxed and confident,” Holliday said. “I think being in a position when I’m ready to launch and being confident and feeling free has kind of been the biggest change for me going up there.”

The Orioles returned home a week ago after a 1-5 road trip and being swept in Detroit. The Orioles got back on track with a 3-3 homestand, but they made up no ground in the standings and remain in last place in the American League East.

Instant analysis: Last season, some Orioles fans bemoaned the club’s reliance on the long ball. Baltimore ranked second in the majors with 235 home runs — only two off the MLB-leading Yankees.

As the Orioles played mediocre ball in the second half of 2024, especially with runners in scoring position, it felt as if their problem was relying too heavily on blasting homers. However, what the beginning of this season perhaps showcased was that the Orioles’ penchant for the long ball is what kept that team afloat in the second half.

The Orioles spent chunks of April going through a power outage. Then, when the slump with runners in scoring position hit, the bats just went dormant, without the power that carried them last year.

Sunday’s game might have ended in a loss, but it was encouraging to see four homers from a lineup that’s going to need many more if this team is going to climb out of the hole in which they’ve dug themselves.

What they’re saying: Gibson on his mindset that the Orioles have plenty of time to dig out of this early hole:

“Everybody knows that you sign up for 162, not 30 or 40. That’s just how you have to play. I think it’s something that doesn’t necessarily need to be expressed with these guys. We went through tough spots in ‘23 when I was here; I’m sure they went through tough spots last year. But it is definitely hard for a team when maybe you feel like a group of you is struggling hitting, a group of us struggling pitching, and you’re losing. Yeah, it’s tough to overcome, but nothing this group can’t handle.”

By the numbers: The Orioles and Royals nearly hit a mile’s worth of homers Sunday. According to Statcast, the 11 long balls totaled a combined projected distance of 4,402 feet — about 83% of a mile (5,280 feet). The Royals accounted for 2,817 of those feet, while the Orioles made up 1,585. Five of the big flies were over 400 feet. The farthest was Holliday’s second, which traveled 422 feet onto the flag court.

On deck: The Orioles have had one of the majors’ hardest schedules thus far. That ends on Tuesday.

Baltimore travels to Minnesota and Anaheim for a six-game road trip against two teams that entered Sunday six games below .500 — the same as the Orioles. The Orioles’ first 11 series came against teams with a combined winning percentage of .527. Their next eight will be versus clubs with a win rate of .420.

After a day off on Monday, Cade Povich takes the ball on Tuesday versus Twins ace Pablo López.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer @baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.