As Colton Cowser raced down the baseline and landed safely at first, it was like a giant sigh of relief floated through the Orioles’ dugout and the entire stadium. Because, in the eighth inning, Cowser had done what no other Orioles hitter had been able to: Get a hit off the Rangers’ Jacob deGrom.

Was it enough to get the Orioles back in the game? Not even close; the Rangers still easily won 7-0 Wednesday night at Camden Yards. But at least the O’s avoided being on the wrong side of history and the embarrassment that comes with it.

“I think there’s a little bit of fatigue right now,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “This has been a grind. I think you can attribute a little bit of that to that. I think guys are trying to win. I think there’s a little bit of, not anxiety, but maybe a tick of pressing at times.”

But this night, even if fatigue truly was the problem, in many ways showcased the position the Orioles have put themselves in, both the front office and the players and coaches themselves.

The pitching wasn’t strong enough, as Brandon Young, a prospect called up from Triple-A to make his third major league start so Tomoyuki Sugano could get an extra day of rest, allowed four runs as he pitched into the fifth inning. Scott Blewett took over and allowed three more.

And the hitting, well, clearly the Orioles weren’t able to do much of anything. The injuries can’t be to blame for this one, either, because they are without only two main contributors (Adley Rutschman and Tyler O’Neill). It was the third time in a week that the Orioles were no-hit through six innings.

“I think they were a little baffled tonight by deGrom,” Mansolino said. “I mean, the stuff was so good.”

DeGrom, who has long been one of the best starters in MLB even with his recent history, had the Orioles on the hook from the start. For the first six innings, if deGrom got behind, it was only ever once by more than one pitch, and even in that one occurence he threw a 98.5 mph slider to get himself back on track.

The Orioles made outs on the first or second pitch six times during that span, with deGrom topping out at 100.1 mph, the fastest pitch he’s thrown since April 11, 2023. He mixed in his secondary and offspeed pitches with ease, not throwing a single fastball to Gunnar Henderson.

DeGrom was more than just good in those first six innings — he was perfect. Orioles players, obviously failing to get anything going against him, resorted to trying to reverse jinx him by repeatedly saying deGrom is throwing a perfect game, words forbidden to speak out loud had the situations been reversed.

Whether it was that, or other factors, Jackson Holliday made sure that wouldn’t need to continue in the seventh, earning a leadoff walk. Two outs later, Ryan O’Hearn followed with another walk as the Orioles had two on. A mound visit gave deGrom a chance to catch his breath, and he got Gary Sánchez to ground out two pitches later to end the inning.

Entering the eighth, deGrom was still in position to complete his first no-hitter. But Cowser got a piece of a 98.9 fastball and grounded it to right field, giving him more than enough time to reach safely.

The crowd, understanding the scenario at hand, erupted, a reaction usually reserved for a home run or something of that significance. As deGrom was pulled, the crowd also exited — a 7-0 beating wasn’t worth watching in the stifling heat if history was no longer at stake. DeGrom concluded his night with with seven strikeouts and just the one hit.

“He had his plus, plus stuff tonight, locating his slider really well, you know, pitching off of it with his changeup more so than he has in the past and, you know, locating a heater when he needed to,” Cowser said. “You know anytime a guy like that who has a heater like that is able to locate his two other pitches like that, you know it’s going to be a challenge. So, yeah, it was a little bit of relief, yeah.”

So how will they make sure this stretch of nearly being no-hit won’t continue? Well, they don’t intend to change much, Mansolino instead chalking it up to facing a tough lineup of pitchers lately. But, even though the Orioles get a much-needed day off Thursday, things won’t get easier when they return to face the Rays for three games beginning Friday.

“I think when you see how these guys prepare every day and how they go about their business and what the intensity level is in the dugout, there’s a ton of accountability,” Mansolino said. “But it’s still baseball, and you have tough nights at certain times. So I don’t think accountability is anywhere near the right word for what it is. ... I wouldn’t look too deep into it.”

This article has been updated.