If there needed to be another example of how this edition of the Orioles varies from the vibrant 2023 version, it arrived Tuesday night at Camden Yards. That example was not needed, of course. It is plain to see in the standings, where Baltimore sits last in the American League East compared to the 101-win club of two years ago.

But an example, nonetheless, came in the whiplash nature of a back-and-forth loss to the Texas Rangers that featured a ferocious comeback that ultimately slipped through the Orioles’ fingers with a 6-5 extra-innings result.

At the end of all this, the Orioles’ loss comes down to three plays that weren’t made at the plate. In the most cliché of sayings, this is a game of inches. That much, at least, remains true.

“They’re close. They’re good slides,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I’ll credit the baserunners at third base. But one of these days we’ve got to get one of those, no doubt.”

The third bang-bang play that went the Rangers’ way occurred in the 10th inning, when Evan Carter was safe at home upon replay review. The initial out-call came after Sam Haggerty chopped a ball to Jackson Holliday at second. With one out, Holliday threw home to catcher Gary Sánchez, who tagged Carter. But Carter, according to the replay, had snuck a hand in before the tag.

That play was set up by a wild pitch from right-hander Seranthony Domínguez that brought Carter to third.

“We’ve had to rely on these guys so heavily here over the 16-game stretch,” which ends with Wednesday’s series finale, Mansolino said. “I think you start to see little leaks here and there with command and things like that.”

In a lengthy fourth inning, two runs that scored against right-hander Charlie Morton were close plays at the plate, too. Carter’s single with Corey Seager on second base reached Ramón Laureano and his cannon of an arm in right field. The throw, however, was a few feet up the first base line, and when Sánchez tried to corral it and dive across to nab Seager, he didn’t hang on to the ball.

Another run scored after shortstop Gunnar Henderson fielded a chopper to short. He threw home, hoping to catch Marcus Semien, but his throw was also off line, and Sánchez could not gather it to attempt a tag.

The trio of narrow misses at the plate were a large part of why Baltimore (34-45) lost to Texas (39-41), even though the Orioles cranked back-to-back-to-back home runs in a breakout seventh inning.

“I think this group has really started to gain some footing with games like that,” said Morton, who saw reasons to be encouraged despite the loss.

“I think they will do that. They’ll punch back, they’ll fight back, and you know, to get where we want to get to, we’re going to have to do that,” Morton continued. “We’re going to have to go out and bang with somebody. We’re going to have to go out and out-grind somebody. So, it doesn’t make it any easier, but it was a really — I don’t know. It just felt like even the guys that came out of the bullpen, they grinded it out. It just felt like we couldn’t get things to go our way."

The Orioles remained in reach of the Rangers because Morton provided enough of a stout effort in his five innings. The 43-pitch fourth inning from Morton was a combination of poor luck, defensive lapses and a leadoff walk.

“That’s the game of fate you play when you get a ground ball,” Morton said. “You never know.”

Texas added a third run in that frame on a sacrifice fly, and with a pitcher warming, it appeared as though Morton would be finished after throwing 91 pitches.

Instead, he returned for a nine-pitch fifth inning, gutting through another frame to cover for the bullpen. It wasn’t his best performance, but it continued Morton’s midseason resurgence. His ERA is down to 5.63.

Rangers starter Jacob Latz weaved his way through the lineup in six hitless innings with just two walks against him. Orioles designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn said his changeup, in particular, held Baltimore’s left-handed hitters off balance. It drew six whiffs.

The 29-year-old was making just his third career start, but he looked at home on the Camden Yards mound until a leadoff single from Laureano in the seventh. A walk followed, and Texas manager Bruce Bochy turned to right-hander Chris Martin.

That’s when Sánchez breathed life into the crowd, with his deep three-run home run flying over the left-field wall. Ramón Urías hit a ball that barely snuck out, just reaching the edge of the flag court in right field, and O’Hearn followed it with the third straight homer off Martin.

All of a sudden, a cavalcade of powerful swings turned a no-good, very-bad game into a lively one for Baltimore.

The game flipped in such stunning, abrupt fashion that the fans who braved the triple-digit heat could hardly contain their disbelief amid the cheers. Mouths gaping, hands on heads — yes, that happened.

Sánchez, Urías and O’Hearn were the first triad of Orioles to hit consecutive long balls since Aug. 6, 2017, when Jonathan Schoop, Chris Davis and Trey Mancini did so.

“That felt good to get that momentum swing, big inning in the [seventh] there,” O’Hearn said. “It felt like, ‘All right, here we go, we’re going to steal this one.’ But we didn’t.”

The walk to the visiting dugout must have felt particularly long for Martin, who inherited a four-run lead and left with a one-run deficit.

The chaotic nature of this midweek game ensured the Orioles’ five-run seventh wouldn’t be the last twist in the tale. In the next inning, left-hander Gregory Soto allowed a leadoff walk to Haggerty, a pinch-hitter who then stole two bases and scored on Jonah Heim’s sacrifice fly.

Texas pushed across Carter in the 10th, and the Orioles could not level the score in the bottom half of the frame.

The Orioles are still seeking their first walk-off win of the season — another sure sign that these aren’t the 2023 Orioles, whose 48 comeback wins were tied for most in the majors. This year, their 15 comeback wins rank right near the bottom.

News and notes

• The Orioles announced Tuesday that they agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Jacob Stallings, who had been released earlier this month by the Colorado Rockies after hitting .143 in 28 games. Stallings provides catching depth while Adley Rutschman is out with an oblique strain and Maverick Handley is on the seven-day concussion list. Stallings won a Gold Glove in 2021.
• Outfielder Tyler O’Neill had his rehab assignment transferred to Double-A Chesapeake. He is building back to a return from a shoulder impingement.
• Right-hander Brandon Young is expected to pitch Wednesday for the Orioles, although it remains to be seen whether he’s the starter or follows an opener. Young’s appearance will allow right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano to be pushed back two days. He’s receiving additional rest, interim manager Tony Mansolino said, to better simulate the six-man rotation schedule Sugano grew accustomed to in Japan.
• Infielder Jordan Westburg could return Wednesday from his sprained left index finger. If he is unable to, Mansolino said he surely would return by Friday. Either way, Terrin Vavra arrived in Baltimore on the medical taxi squad just in case.