PHILADELPHIA — When the hits began to stack against Dean Kremer in the second inning Tuesday night, his mind raced back to Kyle Gibson, as it does on so many occasions since the 2023 season they shared in Baltimore.

Gibson was a self-described innings-eater. Kremer, the Orioles right-hander, is now a self-described innings-eater. That isn’t a coincidence, and it showed itself to be true in what still became a 5-0 loss against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

“I watched Gibby do it all year that year, in ’23, and I was in awe of it every time,” Kremer said after pitching six innings with four runs against him. “Just ‘cause it’s a very mature thing to be able to kind of continue to roll when things may not have been going your way.”

In that sense, Kremer is a different pitcher. This wasn’t Kremer at his best, but it sure wasn’t the worst that the Orioles right-hander could’ve produced against a strong Phillies lineup.

“I’d say two or three years ago, an outing like that, I’m probably out in the second, maybe the third, cause I let things get to me,” Kremer said.

And yet, anything short of perfection might not have been enough for Kremer to power Baltimore to a win given the sagging offensive performance.

The Orioles dropped their second game at Citizens Bank Park in deflating fashion. On Monday, it was a bullpen collapse. On Tuesday, in a 5-0 loss, Baltimore’s bats turned into twigs against right-hander Taijuan Walker and a stout Philadelphia bullpen.

Eight balls left bats at 100 mph or faster in the game. Seven of them came from Phillies hitters, and Jordan Westburg’s first-inning single marked the lone loud contact from an Orioles player.

“Walker has been throwing the ball good,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “He shut us down. Wasn’t our best night swinging the bats. He mixed, he changed speeds, different locations. He did a great job. You’ve got to kind of tip your cap to him. We’re going to be better than that.”

As much as it can be said for a team that is 12 games under .500 at 51-63, Baltimore appeared to have some momentum as July came to a close. The Orioles rattled off a five-game winning streak that included three wins with 11 or more runs scored. But since the July 31 trade deadline came and went — and since key contributors such as Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins and Ramón Laureano departed — the wind has appeared to leave Baltimore’s sails.

The Orioles have lost four of five games since the start of August. They’ve been shut out twice in that span.

“We definitely have higher expectations for where we’d be at this time at the beginning of the year,” catcher Adley Rutschman said. “It’s tough to not have some of the teammates that we had. Just such quality guys and such good clubhouse guys and great guys to have on the field. Loved having time with them here every day. It’s tough not having them around.”

An additional cause for concern came in the sixth inning, when the Orioles removed outfielder Tyler O’Neill because of right wrist discomfort. This was only O’Neill’s second game back from an illness that impacted him while the team was in Chicago. And O’Neill has been on the injured list twice this season due to neck and shoulder maladies.

O’Neill jammed his wrist against the wall in the second inning, yet he returned with it taped. Then, in the fourth, he aggravated the wrist again on a swing. O’Neill said X-rays were negative.

“It’s been a tough road trip for me,” said O’Neill, who added that he hopes to see his improvement from his wrist Wednesday. “Just trying to stay healthy as possible.”

Kremer labored in the second inning and gave up three runs between Brandon Marsh’s RBI double and Max Kepler’s two-run homer. The hanging curveball to Marsh was about as poor as Kremer’s placement was all night, but Kremer worked past that divot to complete six innings.

The four runs on eight hits Kremer allowed were in line with his 4.35 ERA this season, and Kremer has been consistently average — and that’s far from a bad thing, considering the volatility of Baltimore’s pitching staff. Kremer has worked into the fifth inning in each of his 23 starts, and despite a rocky second inning and Bryson Stott’s RBI triple in the fourth, he once again gave the Orioles a chance.

“You talk to Dean and his goals and what he wants to do in the game, and the guy wants to throw 200 innings every year,” Mansolino said. “He kind of embodies that every day with how he goes out there.”

Added Rutschman: “He’s a mature pitcher. I think just for him he always wants to go back out there and compete. He’s at 100 pitches and he still wants to keep going.”

There just didn’t seem to be much of a chance Tuesday night — not with the way they swung the bats.

News and notes

• Right-hander Zach Eflin received an epidural for his lower back and there is “no plan in place for him right now,” Mansolino said. Eflin is on the injured list with lower back discomfort. “We’re letting the shot do its work, see how he comes out of that,” Mansolino continued, “and then as he feels better or when he does, we’ll be able to map out what the next month or two months will be like for him.”
• Outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who is not playing for Triple-A Norfolk due to fatigue, does not have a clear prognosis. Mansolino said the club isn’t “ready to share” any more information on Kjerstad’s condition.
• Right-hander Colin Selby has a “pretty significant” hamstring injury, and he will be out for another month, Mansolino estimated.
• Right-hander Félix Bautista will have a follow-up appointment next week that will include an MRI on his shoulder. The first shoulder imaging didn’t yield results due to inflammation.