BALTIMORE _ Their dubious destiny nearly set, this year's Orioles team will very likely go down in history as the worst in franchise history, an ugly distinction for a team that owns a proud 65-year history in Baltimore.
This day sneaked up on no one, and it's now not a matter of whether they will have that title, but how bad the ending will be over the final two weeks of the season.
In terms of losses, they are there. With their next defeat, the Orioles set themselves apart in a way no one wants after losing their 107th game of the season, tying the team record, with a 5-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night at Camden Yards.
The Orioles' 1988 team _ the same one that set a major-league record by opening the season with 21 straight losses _ finished with a 54-107 record. This year's Orioles (43-107), who finish the season with 10 of their final 12 games against teams currently positioned for postseason spots, are near certain to set a new standard for losing.
Dating to 1871, only 11 teams have recorded more losses through their first 150 games, most recently the 2013 Detroit Tigers, who were 38-112 at that mark.
It might be fitting given the fact that on this night, when the delay of the Orioles' series opener against Toronto was delayed by 30 minutes, the number of fans spread sparsely throughout the Oriole Park seating bowl could easily be counted. The announced attendance of 8,198 _ the second smallest home crowd of the season _ was maybe four times more than the actual fans in seats.
They reached the low-water mark Monday, one day after the four-year anniversary of the Orioles winning the American League East, a 97-win season that ended four wins away from the World Series.
It's been a fast fall.
On Monday, you'd have to look deep to see the remnants of that roster. The Orioles played a game in which all nine innings were logged by pitchers who weren't in the organization at the All-Star break.
Five of the nine batters in the starting lineup weren't on the team's Opening Day roster.
And of the three players who recorded hits for the Orioles on Monday night _ second baseman Jonathan Villar, third baseman Renato Nunez and right fielder John Andreoli _ none was on the major-league roster before the All-Star break.
The loss marked the 15th time the Orioles have been shut out this season.
Blue Jays left-hander Ryan Borucki, making his 15th major-league start, held the Orioles scoreless for eight innings. Left-hander Tim Mayza struck out the side in the ninth.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter often bemoans September baseball because expanded rosters allow teams to _ in words he often uses, "pick your poison" _ but on Monday, Showalter was forced to start reliever Evan Phillips to patch up a rotation beset by injuries and inning limits on its youngest starters.
Fittingly, Showalter steered away from calling it a strategy, making it clear the move was done by necessity. And Phillips retired the first five hitters he faced before a seven-pitched sequence foiled his night.
With two outs in the second, Kevin Pillar doubled into the left-center-field gap. Rowdy Tellez then singled to right to score Pillar with the game's first run. Rookie catcher Danny Jansen then jumped on a 2-0 high fastball, sending it over the left-field fence for a two-run homer and a 3-0 lead.
Left-hander Sean Gilmartin replaced Phillies in the third inning and retired 14 of the 16 hitters he faced, the only run coming off him a homer by Pillar in the seventh inning. Otherwise, Gilmartin _ signed as a minor-league free agent in July _ was effective, keeping the ball in play and inducing eight groundouts with a five-pitch mix.
Aledmys Diaz homered off right-hander Cody Carroll with two outs in the top of the ninth.
