Dean Kremer's first pitch of today's game flew 397 feet into right field and was a leadoff home run. Gunnar Henderson began the second part of the first inning by striking out and slamming his bat on the ground in anger.

There were no immediate signs of a turnaround for the Orioles. They flickered and burned out as the night wore on.

A third-inning lead and subsequent comebacks raised false hopes. The walk-up music was reset to the original playlist, but the Orioles maintained their form after the break and lost 5-3 to the Giants in front of 23,856 spectators at Camden Yards.

Kremer allowed four earned runs and five total runs in six innings due to bad luck, and the Orioles fell to 84-68, their fifth loss in six games, eighth in 10 and ninth in 12. They were up 26-30 in the second half, but have a 2 1/2 game lead for the first wild card.

The Orioles are just 16 games over .500 for the first time since May 31. They are 19-26 against the National League.

The first two batters reached base in the seventh inning against reliever Sean Hjelle, and the Orioles loaded the bases with two outs after a pitch grazed Heston Kjerstad's foot. Colton Cowser flew out to left field and the Giants stayed ahead.

“I thought the encouraging thing about today's game was a little bit that we were better at batting,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I thought we generated more traffic, I thought we ran. Now we're just waiting for some offensive attempts and a chopper to come through, something unusual to fall on the outfield turf.”

Mike Yastrzemski hit his second home run in two nights and did damage with three pitches in total, pounding Kremer's 92.7 mph fastball into space.

Kremer entered the fourth inning with a 2-1 lead and the Giants loaded the bases with no outs on three singles, the last of which was a bunt by Tyler Fitzgerald. Kremer caught Grant McCray's roller and threw the ball to catcher James McCann, whose foot was in front of the plate when Heliot Ramos slid over it.

Casey Schmitt followed the error with a ground ball to left field that scored two runs. A double play restored order, but the Orioles fell behind again.

“As a catcher, you feel the plate is at ground level, so you don't really feel it, especially with spikes,” Hyde said. “And I think unfortunately he came out a little bit, maybe a half-inch too far, and that's just unfortunate.”

Kremer struck out the side in the fifth inning, but Michael Conforto hit a cutter to the flag count at 111.6 mph in the sixth inning.

“I thought he had a good performance, allowed a couple of singles, the bunt hurt, forced the play at the plate,” Hyde said. “That was just bad luck for him.”

Hyde took Kremer off the field after 86 pitches. The right-hander did not walk a single batter and threw seven.

“The saying goes, 'solos don't kill you,'” Kremer said. “If I allow home runs and they're just solos, then that's the way it is. And then in the big inning, I didn't do a good enough job of trying to limit the damage. The balls were put in play a little too hard and were just within reach of some fielders.

“They were swinging. When the ball was in the zone, they were swinging. They weren't taking a lot of pitches in the zone. I don't know how many strikes I got compared to swinging strikes or foul balls or whatever. But they're trying to put the ball in play, that's their game.”

Emmanuel Rivera worked a leadoff walk against rookie Hayden Birdsong in the third inning, Jackson Holliday hit a 102.9 mph single to right field and McCann hit a double to right field to tie the game. Holliday was 5-for-37 this month. Yastrzemski nearly stole the ball from McCann on a diving attempt.

Holliday scored the winning run with a Cedric Mullins groundout and that was it. A potentially important inning was shortened.

Rivera flied out to the edge of the left field lane, leaving Cowser standing in the fourth inning. Cowser, the last batter to face Birdsong, was able to get a walk with two outs in the sixth inning, and Ryan O'Hearn greeted Erik Miller with an RBI double that cut the lead to 5-3.

Schmitt dove down the third base line to prevent Rivera from getting an infield hit and O'Hearn from scoring. Austin Slater stepped in for Jackson and struck out.

“That's a tough left-hander. Jackson has had a tough time against left-handers this year,” Hyde said.

The Orioles scored 2 of 10 runs with good runners.

“I felt like we had good hitting opportunities all night,” Cowser said. “I just think we're missing that big hit right now. I felt like we hit some good shots throughout the night, and I think the mindset going forward is just to pass the ball to the next guy.”

The Orioles have lost four straight series and will look to avoid the sweep on Thursday afternoon, with Zach Eflin facing off against Logan Webb.

“We lost our mojo,” McCann said this afternoon. “We as a team have tried a lot of different things to try and change that. One of the main things I try to preach is positivity. It's really hard when things aren't going the way you want them to and staying positive in a bad time. We don't need fans or the media or TV or anyone else to tell us it's not going right. We know it's not going right and so we have to find a way to stay positive and find a silver lining. Because at the end of the day, all that matters is if you're going well in October and we have 11 games, 12 games or whatever left to get momentum here at the end of the season and carry that into October.”

McCann was in a lot of pain in the ninth inning after a foul ball hit him in the right hand and thigh. Head coach Brian Ebel checked on McCann, who stayed in the game.

He has been through much worse.

That also applies to the Orioles, but that was the rebuild.

“I think in this game sometimes it's hard not to let your emotions get the better of you, but I think at this level you have to try to filter yourself and allow yourself to feel those things but then get rid of them right away,” Cowser said. “We're all human, so it's natural to have certain reactions to certain situations. I think the most important thing is to get rid of those emotions, move on and take one pitch at a time.

“I think momentum just happens. You can't really force it because then guys start pushing and you have even more to fight. I think over the last month or so you've seen guys try to force it and I think that's just something that comes naturally. I have the utmost confidence in this team and I'm just excited for when we finally get going.”

Can the Orioles turn things around?

“I hope so,” Kremer said. “I think a lot of guys are starting to test themselves. The guys are getting a little more confidence at the plate, with the glove, with the ball in their hands. We're doing our best.”

* Danny Coulombe faced three batters in the first game of Triple-A Norfolk's doubleheader, threw eight pitches in two-thirds of an inning and was removed after allowing a hit and striking out a batter. The brief appearance was planned and not due to a physical issue.

Coulombe completed his third rehabilitation stay.

Chayce McDermott threw three scoreless, hitless innings in his return from a right shoulder injury. He allowed three walks and had five strikeouts. JD Davis delivered a walk-off single in the seventh inning.

The Tigers have named right-hander Reese Olson as the starter for Saturday against the Orioles. Their other two spots have yet to be announced.