OAKLAND, Calif. — Cade Povich sat, face blank, in the Orioles dugout. Next to him, arm draped across Povich’s shoulders, pitching coach Drew French spoke in his ear. It was a disastrous outing, the shortest of his entire professional career, and Povich watched as the final runners he left on base scored.

Povich escaped the first inning with three runs against him, but when he returned in the second Saturday, he didn’t manage an out.

In all, Povich recorded three outs between the first and second innings. The left-hander walked three batters, allowed five hits and watched as two three-run homers sailed into the nearly empty Oakland Coliseum bleachers. He couldn’t find the strike zone and, when he did, the Athletics shelled him.

Oakland plated eight runs against the rookie and didn’t slow down against the Orioles bullpen, piling on to finish a 19-8 victory that underscores the obvious needs for Baltimore ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.

The 19 runs were the most the Athletics have ever scored against the Orioles, and they were the most the Orioles have allowed since 2021.

“There’s always stuff to learn from,” Povich said. “Obviously not on attack early enough. It doesn’t matter what team it is at this level, if you’re not on attack and coming out with your best stuff, it’s going to happen to you.”

One calamitous appearance doesn’t change Povich’s future with the organization, but it does raise doubt in 2024. With left-hander Cole Irvin also shaky — and falling out of the rotation for the time being — Baltimore’s already high need for additional pitching help only magnifies.

Still, Povich had largely done well before Saturday. After allowing six runs in his debut, he combined to allow six runs across his next four starts. The collapse on Saturday, however, was severe. And it began with two walks — an aspect of Povich’s game he has tried to nip during his rise through the minor leagues.

But it has cropped up periodically throughout Povich’s six starts. His three free passes Saturday brought his total to 13 this year in 27 2/3 innings. And, after Daz Cameron and Miguel Andujar walked, Brent Rooker blasted a three-run shot.

The second inning unraveled as well, with a single, double and a three-run homer from Max Schuemann to begin the frame. Povich allowed another walk and single before right-hander Dillon Tate entered, but the Athletics kept hitting. Oakland scored seven runs in the second inning, closing Povich’s line at eight runs.

“Just looked like he didn’t have his command from the beginning,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Just didn’t look sharp today, command-wise, and gave up a couple three-run homers there. No outs in the second.”

In one appearance, Povich’s ERA leaped from 4.05 to 6.51. He became just the fourth Orioles starter to allow eight runs while recording three outs or fewer, and the 24-year-old was the first to land on that unappealing list since Chris Tillman in 2014.

Povich didn’t force a swing and miss on any of his 43 pitches. He threw just over half his pitches for strikes.

“I mean, I’m still alive, still breathing,” Povich said. “Just kind of stay the same course, look over stuff, see what was good and what was bad and prepare for the next one.”

The pitching debacle continued after Povich, however. Tate conceded four runs, and Irvin, who covered four innings, gave up five runs on three walks and five hits. It was a sendoff of sorts for Irvin, who pitched for the Athletics in 2021 and 2022. But it wasn’t the Coliseum sendoff he would’ve wanted.

“Tate couldn’t really put the fire out,” Hyde said. “And Cole struggled a little bit. So we just had a tough time keeping them from scoring there.”

And, by the eighth, the game was so out of reach catcher James McCann took the mound to lob in pitches. It was the second time McCann served as a position-player-turned-pitcher upon necessity, following a scoreless inning last season against the San Diego Padres. But McCann, throwing what Statcast classified as mid-40 mph curveballs, allowed a two-run homer to Kyle McCann, who is not related to him.

The offense, meanwhile, had an opportunity to somewhat cut into the deficit in the third inning, when Baltimore loaded the bases with no outs. But Adley Rutschman, Anthony Santander and Ryan O’Hearn all failed to bring home a run. And, when Rutschman knocked a three-run homer in the seventh inning, it was a consolation. So, too, were the pair of runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth.

Hours earlier, the damage had been done. There was no coming back from that.

“These kinds of games happen,” Hyde said. “Unfortunately, we gave up a lot of runs there.”