PHILADELPHIA — Around and around it went, a carousel of misery for one dugout and an ecstasy-inducing merry-go-round for the other. The Orioles needed one out. They got it after seven Philadelphia Phillies batters reached base, with the largest blow a grand slam from Kyle Schwarber that forced Citizens Bank Park to erupt as Baltimore withered.

What could’ve been: a 1-2-3 inning with left-hander Cade Povich on the mound. Instead, J.T. Realmuto narrowly beat out an infield single to extend the sixth inning, and interim manager Tony Mansolino pulled Povich at 90 pitches in his first appearance back from the injured list.

What it became: An eight-run inning prolonged by the ineffectiveness of right-handers Corbin Martin and Yaramil Hiraldo. The merry-go-round sped up until it was out of control. Around and around it went, until Schwarber’s bases-clearing bomb left the Orioles far out of reach in a game that was once close.

This may become too common of a theme during the final months of the season. The Orioles cleaned house of any relievers they could turn into prospects ahead of the trade deadline, and the result is an inexperienced group that crumbled in what became a 13-3 loss in the series opener against the Phillies.

Povich wasn’t perfect himself. He allowed home runs to Bryce Harper and Schwarber, and the two-run shot from Schwarber came via an elevated fastball over the heart of the zone that Povich will regret.

“I want those back,” Povich said, “but I think outside of those, overall most of the pitches were executed pretty well.”

He showed positive signs in his return from a hip injury he described as a cam lesion. “It’s basically like a bone growth on top of my hip. When there’s inflammation there, it was really just causing a pinch,” Povich said.

The Orioles’ (51-62) starter struck out seven and walked one in 5 2/3 innings, and before Realmuto’s infield single, Povich had retired eight straight batters.

But at 90 pitches and in a return from the shelf, Mansolino felt the infield single marked the end of Povich’s outing.

“The mentality I’ve always had is, I want to throw until the manager takes the ball out of my hands,” Povich said. “And that was the case. Obviously, knowing a lot of the situation, first game off the IL, I wanted to stay out there, but Manso makes the decision. We were able to have a conversation about it before the inning. He let me go back out there. Obviously, close play on what could have been last out.”

Mansolino said on top of the fact Povich had only reached a high of around 85 pitches in rehab outings — “very different than 90 here in Citizens Bank Park against a World Series-caliber team,” he said — bringing in a righty to face the right-handed-hitting Nick Castellanos was “without a doubt” the right call.

He turned to Martin to match up against Castellanos with Realmuto on first, and that turned into a hard-hit single. One batter later, Harrison Bader — a trade acquisition from the Minnesota Twins — blasted a three-run homer.

That was just the start. Three more singles and a walk followed against Martin, and while left-hander Grant Wolfram had been warming, Mansolino turned to Hiraldo instead to face the lefty-swinging Schwarber.

The calculus to use Hiraldo rather than Wolfram had more to do with Tuesday’s game, and hoping to maintain the availability for his left-handers the rest of the series.

“Once you’re chasing four runs in the big leagues, especially in Philadelphia against that bullpen and this team, you don’t chase it,” Mansolino said.

The second pitch from Hiraldo, another elevated fastball on the outer third, was sent into orbit for Schwarber’s 40th homer of the season.

“Thought we competed well the first five innings,” Mansolino said. “Once Povich came out of the game, he threw the ball incredibly well, but once he came out of the game, we just weren’t able to give our hitters a chance to have competitive at-bats.”

The flaws run deeply, and while the Orioles maintain that their aim in 2026 is to make a run toward the World Series, the solutions between then and now aren’t easy nor straightforward. The pitching staff must be addressed, either through trades or the free agent market. And the lineup boasts large names who must play up to their reputations.

Baltimore’s lineup has fared better against left-handers of late. Until May 31, the Orioles’ .201 batting average against southpaws was the worst in the majors. Since June 1, entering Monday, their .251 mark ranked 10th.

With a two-run blast from Tyler O’Neill and a solo shot from Jordan Westburg, the Orioles dented the armor of left-hander Jesús Luzardo. Still, Luzardo finished with a quality start, holding Baltimore to those three runs in six innings.

And while Povich matched him for much of the game, it all unraveled as soon as he departed. The result was an embarrassment. What else can a 10-run defeat be called? So as the wave worked its way around a packed Citizens Bank Park on a Monday night, the Orioles played out a loss. There’s no other option in this lost season.

News and notes

• First baseman Ryan Mountcastle will be back in the Triple-A Norfolk lineup Tuesday after missing a pair of games over the weekend. Mansolino said Mountcastle’s hamstring feels improved after what appears to be a small setback, although Mountcastle isn’t expected to be activated off the 60-day injured list until after this series in Philadelphia.
• The Orioles activated infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján, a recent waiver claim, and optioned outfielder Jordyn Adams. Bruján played 36 games for the Chicago Cubs this year with a .222 average.
• Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez will undergo an elbow debridement surgery next week, Mansolino said. That ends Rodriguez’s 2025 season before he threw one pitch due to recurring elbow impingement issues and a lat strain. General manager Mike Elias said the Orioles expect Rodriguez to be ready for spring training in 2026.