BALTIMORE–What happened? On an unseasonably cool and wet night, the Orioles’ chances for their first four-game winning streak in nearly a year vanished with a horrid eighth inning.

Bryan Baker gave up three consecutive extra-base hits, and the Orioles’ makeshift outfield contributed to the mess in a 7-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals before 13,779 at Camden Yards on Tuesday night.

Baker (3-1) entered the eighth with the score tied, 4-4. With one out, Nolan Arenado homered. Nolan Gorman’s drive to right-center, which probably would have been caught had Cedric Mullins been playing, eluded rightfielder Heston Kjerstad as centerfielder Jorge Mateo avoided a collision with Kjerstad. It resulted in a triple.

Mateo, playing center, mistimed a leap on Jordan Walker’s ball that went for another triple. Masyn Winn’s single scored Walker, and the Orioles trailed, 7-4.

Mullins hasn’t played in three of the last four games. Interim manager Tony Mansolino said that Mullins needed rest.

“We’ve got a guy that’s a rookie in the major leagues and then we have an infielder playing the outfield probably because of an injury situation right now,” Mansolino said.

“They played really well. It’s a wet night. It’s tough. The ball’s flying. Their outfielders made their plays, but there were a couple balls that when they were up in the air, it didn’t look super confident at times. I think the conditions were really tough tonight. Our guys did the best they could for what we’re asking. That’s we got.”

Oriole starter Tomoyuki Sugano wasn’t at his best in the first two innings, allowing three runs and six hits. Then, he toughened up and made it into the sixth inning, giving up just two more hits.

Sugano allowed a run on four singles in the first and a two-run home run by Lars Nootbaar in the second. He gave up three runs and equaled a career high with eight hits, striking out three in 5 1/3 innings.

Ryan Mountcastle, who doubled twice, scored on Kjerstad’s forceout in the fourth. Ryan O’Hearn’s three-run home run, his ninth, made it 4-3.

Keegan Akin allowed two hits and a walk in the seventh as the Cardinals tied it at 4.

The Orioles didn’t help themselves by going 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

“As I watched the at-bats, it felt competitive, it felt good, it felt like we were in it,” Mansolino said. “A couple big hits here or there and it might’ve been a different story, but I appreciate the effort and the battle.”

How did Mateo do in center field? With Mullins hurt, Mateo started for the third time this season in center, and it wasn’t an ideal night for him.

“Yeah, it was pretty uncomfortable,” Mateo said through a team translator. “Thankfully, the night sky was dark and you were able to see the ball, but with the rain and everything, it did make it a little uncomfortable.”

Mateo said he had his bearings in center when he jumped awkwardly in an attempt to catch Walker’s drive.

“I tried to catch the ball,” he said. “I was aware of where the wall was, but it just didn’t work out that way, and ultimately it landed where it did.”

He said he feels comfortable enough in center.

“I’m feeling better,” Mateo said. “As I continue to get more repetitions, I feel a lot more confident out there.”

How tired is the Orioles bullpen? Even though the Orioles have gotten decent starts recently, their bullpen has been taxed.

“We’ve been on fumes for a few days,” Mansolino said. “We’ve rolled off a few games here in a row. In the coaches room, we have the sheet, we know where we’re at, we’re talking to the players.

“We felt very fortunate here the last few days that’s it’s kind of set up perfectly for us, and it actually set up again pretty good for us tonight. Sugano got us into a good spot. Because of the 16, 17 or 18 games in a row that we’ve had, because of the doubleheaders, because of the long games, I think it just took its toll on us tonight. And that’s OK.”

Mansolino said that he wasn’t worried about Baker.

“I think it’s going to happen for everybody,” Mansolino said. “We’ve really relied on him heavily here recently, and he has been so good. When we put him out there, we know we’re asking a lot, but we’re asking a lot of that whole group right now. I think as we get through these next couple offdays, it’ll probably settle us down a little bit and kind of reset the ‘pen and try to get back to what they’ve been doing here recently.”

What does it mean? The Orioles’ chances for a four-game winning streak evaporated with poor relief appearances by Akin and Baker as well as sloppy outfield play in the eighth.

What’s the word? “The first two innings, the way it goes for Sugano, probably wasn’t ideal for us, but he settled down, got us pretty deep into the game, probably more than what we were expecting at that point.”-Mansolino on Sugano’s start.

What’s the stat of the day? Catcher Chadwick Tromp and reliever Yaramil Hiraldo played for the Orioles for the first time. It was Hiraldo’s major league debut. The Orioles have used 44 players in 54 games.

Hiraldo allowed a hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out one. Tromp was hitless in four at-bats.

What’s going on in the minor leagues? The rehab stints for Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg with Triple-A Norfolk will have to wait. The Tides’ game with Lehigh Valley was rained out.

Double-A Chesapeake was held to two hits in a 4-1 loss to Binghamton.

Right-handed pitcher Juan Nunez and infielder Max Wagner were placed on Chesapeake’s injury list. Right-hander Peter Van Loon was transferred from Norfolk to Chesapeake. Outfielder Reed Trimble was activated from the injured list. Right-handers Christian Herberholz and Juan De Los Santos were promoted from Aberdeen to Chesapeake.

High-A Aberdeen was held to four hits in a 4-0 loss to Brooklyn.

Single-A Delmarva beat Hickory, 4-2.

IronBirds left-hander Luis De Léon was reinstated from the injured list.

What’s next? Cade Povich (1-3, 4.86) will face Miles Mikolas (4-2, 3.51) on Wednesday night at 6:35.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich,@BaltimoreBaseball.com