ARLINGTON, Texas _ Too many times this year as the Orioles have fallen further in the American League standings and deeper into long-term uncertainty have performances like Friday's 8-2 loss to the Texas Rangers come along to crush whatever hope they had left.
Right-hander Chris Tillman labored through four innings and left with eight runs on his account. The offense wilted in the Texas heat, managing a pair of runs on six hits. And the Orioles lost their third straight game to fall to 48-54 overall and 18-33 away from Camden Yards.
All of the team's problems were on display at Globe Life Park as the nonwaiver trade deadline approaches Monday, and with two games left against a Rangers team they swept at Camden Yards last week and are still battling for playoff positioning with, each deficiency grows more magnified.
Even with two strong starts under his belt since the All-Star break, Tillman labored early and didn't get into a groove until it was too late. He walked designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo to open his evening, then saw him go to second on a single by shortstop Elvis Andrus. Both scored on the first of three doubles by right fielder Nomar Mazara to stake the Rangers to an early 2-0 lead.
After a scoreless second, Tillman again walked Choo to open the third before Andrus hit his 14th homer of the year to left field to double the lead. Mazara doubled again and scored on a broken-bat single by third baseman Adrian Beltre to make it 5-0.
Three more runs scored in the fifth inning, and Tillman ended up going 41/3 innings, allowing eight runs on nine hits with a pair of walks and six strikeouts to bring his ERA to 7.65.
He fell to 1-7, and hasn't won since making his season debut May 7.
The Orioles never got much going off Rangers starter Andrew Cashner, with their first baserunner reaching second base in the fifth inning and their only run coming on a solo home run by second baseman Jonathan Schoop in the sixth inning.
Schoop has homered in consecutive games to bring his team-leading total to 23 on the season.
First baseman Chris Davis had a walk and a pair of base hits, with the second plating a run in the eighth inning. Catcher Welington Castillo had two hits, and his third-inning single was his 500th career hit.
Beltre's single in the third inning was the 2,997th of his career, and he moved one closer to 3,000 with a single in the fifth inning. Showalter brought in right-hander Mychal Givens to face him in the eighth inning, and he popped up.
