WASHINGTON — The Orioles were supposed to show up to Nationals Park Tuesday night “pissed off.” Jordan Westburg had said Sunday’s drubbing was a kick in the pants — not to change anything, but presumably to heighten the sense of urgency for a sub-.500 ball club teetering between showing the chutzpah for an upswing and completely unraveling.

In a 7-0 loss to Washington on Tuesday night, they didn’t looked pissed off. They looked flat.

“We did not play well,” manager Brandon Hyde said, matter of factly. “Coming off a game we definitely [wanted] to throw away a couple days ago, off day, to come out and not take very good at-bats and not play very good baseball tonight, that was disappointing.”

Trailing 3-0 by the third inning, Jackson Holliday drew a seven-pitch walk. Cedric Mullins singled right after. The veteran rebuild survivor pulled into first base, looked over at his teammates occupying the visiting dugout and whirled his left hand, mouthing, “Let’s go.”If Baltimore was going to make a post-Easter collapse statement, that was their first chance. Nothing. Three Nationals pitchers collectively tamed Baltimore batters the rest of the way. The Orioles went scoreless for the third time this season. They managed only one hit, courtesy of Mullins. “He’s competing every at-bat, every pitch,” Hyde said. “Hope guys are watching.”

The Orioles dropped to 9-13 overall, four games behind the New York Yankees for the American League East lead.

Hyde even gave both Heston Kjerstad and Jackson Holliday a chance against a lefty hurler, something the fan base has been clamoring for while the Orioles have performed far worse against southpaws. Mitchell Parker kept both youngsters (and just about the entire rest of the lineup) hitless, pitching eight full innings with four strikeouts.

Tyler O’Neill took some onus for the lackluster showing vs. lefties — an issue that doesn’t solely fall on his shoulders. Still, the middle-of-the-order outfielder is supposed to be a crucial piece there. He’s a career .264 against lefties. In 2025, that figure free falls to .111.

What’s he working on to improve vs. lefties? “Pretty much everything I can,” he said.

Orioles right-handed pitcher Dean Kremer, coming off his strongest start of the year last week vs. Cleveland, got beat up for the better part of 5 1/3 innings, surrendering 11 hits for six runs, all earned.

Washington entered this game tied for the fifth fewest extra-base hits in baseball (51) and finished up near the middle of the pack (61).

Nationals leadoff man James Wood smacked a double toward the left-field corner, which set up an effortless Nathaniel Lowe two-run, 411-foot homer in the first. A defensive gaffe from Heston Kjerstad in left field — misstepping and miss-scooping a dribbler – resulted in a triple for José Tena. Kremer’s wild pitch the following at-bat gave Tena enough time to dash home for that early 3-0 lead.

Some small ball and defensive miscues hurt in the fifth. And in the sixth, Kremer watched Dylan Crews pummel a sinker 429 feet to center.

It only got worse from there, leaving with just one hit for the second time in the past three seasons.

O’Neill was asked if there was some sort of rallying call from a clubhouse leader within those four walls that could help spark a turnaround.

“I feel like every clubhouse is different in that regard,” he said. “Some guys like to step up, and there’s other clubhouses that are not so like that. I don’t think those things are kind of necessary. Obviously, we all know where we’re at, and we obviously all need to do a better job, specifically myself. It’s just a day-by-day process, you know? All we can do is just work hard and show up the next day and try to win a ballgame.”

Tuesday night, this group looked closer to unraveling than they do capable of a win streak.

Instant analysis

It seems each Orioles issue is seeping into another facet of their struggling performances. The starting pitching has been dismal, posting the worst collective ERA (6.22) in Major League Baseball. Shaking starting pitching means more innings needed from the so-so bullpen. All of that puts more of a burden on the offense, which has struggled the more it appears to be pressing with a need for five-plus runs on a given night.

“We’re letting at-bats kind of steamroll on us a little bit,” Hyde said. “It’s showing up on our defense at times as well. No one’s going to feel sorry for us. This is the big leagues, and you’ve got to be able to bring it every night. You’ve got to be able to turn the page.”

Maybe if the Orioles can get one phase going, the rest will follow. Maybe.

What they’re saying

Kremer on if he’s surprised how much the Orioles have struggled:

“Every guy in there is disappointed after a loss. We always take it to heart. Things just kind of are piling up. The good ones are great, and the bad ones are not good. Things are kind of piling up, and it’s something we’re trying to work through.”

By the numbers

Dean Kremer’s day ended in the sixth inning having let up six earned runs on 11 hits. Eight of those were extra-base hits, now the most ever allowed by an Orioles starter in one outing. Twenty-three Baltimore starters are tied on that leaderboard having let up seven — most recently Bruce Zimmermann in 2022. Kremer now stands alone for a not-so-pretty organizational record.

On deck

Baltimore’s two-way woes continued from Sunday’s blowout, through an off day and down I-95. The Orioles will spend the next two days in the nation’s capital. Tomoyuki Sugano is set to pitch Wednesday, opposite fellow righty Trevor Williams. Cade Povich will get the ball on Thursday and from there, Baltimore’s beleaguered starting rotation remains a mystery. “Gonna get through this series and see where we are,” Hyde said.

Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.