The Orioles played 18 innings today and scored during two of them. Somehow, Baltimore managed to secure multi-run leads in both games. In the end, it didn’t matter. The Orioles lost them both.

Chayce McDermott coughed up four runs in three innings, and the Orioles wasted a six-run third inning. Yennier Cano allowed a late three-run home run, and the Twins took the second game 8-6.

Cedric Mullins appeared to provide the team life with a grand slam in the third. It felt like the type of swing that could propel a slumping team forward, but this team managed to squander the moment before the end of the day. There are several talented players on this team, but this is not a group of winners. Not this year.

The Orioles would love for McDermott to emerge as a legitimate starting pitcher at some point this season. The doubleheader provided Baltimore an opportunity to sneak a peek at the 26-year-old with the hope he would make the case for an extended stay. McDermott failed to meet the moment.

Pitching in his second major league game, McDermott walked leadoff hitter Byron Buxton on four pitches. He managed to strike out Trevor Larnach before allowing a sharp single to Ryan Jeffers. The righty struck out Brooks Lee for the second out, but he loaded the bases with his second walk of the inning.

McDermott nearly escaped the inning unscathed, but Harrison Bader legged out an infield single to provide Minnesota an early 1-0 lead. The rookie struck out Kody Clemens to leave the bases loaded, but he paid the price for the two early walks.

McDermott remained wild in the second inning and plunked Jonah Bride. He bounced back with a pair of quick outs, but Larnach launched a two-run homer to give Minnesota a three-run advantage.

The O’s went quietly in the first two innings, and McDermott walked the leadoff man to start the third. Lee eventually came around to score on a single by Kody Clemens for a 4-0 advantage. McDermott ended his day with 3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 BB and 5 K.

Baltimore had already dropped Game 1, and a four-run deficit felt nearly insurmountable, but the offense finally showed some life. Jackson Holliday, Ryan Mountcastle and Gunnar Henderson rattled off three consecutive singles with the third knock yielding a run.

Ryan O’Hearn nearly ended the inning with a double play, but he managed to beat the throw to first base. Ramón Laureano worked a walk to load the bases for Cedric Mullins.

Mullins finally delivered what should have been the story of the day. He launched a hanging slider over the scoreboard for a go-ahead grand slam. Just for good measure, Heston Kjerstad stepped in and delivered a solo shot. Back-to-back jacks in a six-run inning! Finally!

Nope.

In need of a shutdown inning, the Orioles turned to… Charlie Morton? Morton managed to work around a two-out walk and retire the side in the fourth. He returned in the fifth and made the type of mistake he’s been prone to all season. The 41-year-old served up a room service fastball to Willi Castro, and the Twins cut the lead in half with a solo shot.

The Orioles must have thought their work on offense was done for the day. Baltimore never added insurance, and Minnesota made them pay. The Twins are a winning baseball team. In fact, they’ve now won 10 games in a row. They waited out Morton and Gregory Soto before finally getting to Cano in the eighth.

Cano allowed a leadoff single to Castro, watched Castro steal second, and balked to place the tying-run 90 feet from home plate. He walked Royce Lewis to put runners on the corners with nobody out, and Clemens delivered a three-run homer to effectively end the game.

Castro prevented a rally with a spectacular catch to rob Tyler O’Neill in the eighth, and the top of the order went quietly in the ninth. It doesn’t matter if you score three runs or six runs in an inning, you need to score in more than one of them.

The Birds had an opportunity to take a real step forward today. Sweeping the doubleheader would have inched the team closer to .500, but the O’s would have settled for an emotional win in Game 2. Now, the Orioles have to find a way not to get swept tomorrow afternoon.