TORONTO — The Orioles began last week with two straight walk-off wins to give them four such victories in their past five games.

They ended the week by being swept.

After sweeping the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates and winning eight of their past nine games, the Orioles couldn’t keep that going over the weekend against the American League East-leading Blue Jays. Baltimore (69-80) was eliminated from the AL East race Friday and is two losses away from its first losing season since 2021.

Here’s the Orioles reset:

What was good?

Most of the Orioles’ top hitting prospects posted impressive walk rates in the minor leagues. Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday were all high-ceiling prospects because of their tantalizing talent, but their patience and eye at the plate were cherries on top.

But none of them showed off their ability to walk to begin their MLB careers the way Dylan Beavers is right now.

From Beavers’ MLB debut Aug. 16 through Saturday’s games, no player in Major League Baseball walked more often than Beavers. After his three-walk game Saturday, Beavers owned an eye-popping 22.7% walk rate, tied with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for first among qualified MLB hitters. For reference, Barry Bonds, MLB’s all-time walks leader, posted a career walk rate of 20.3%.

Of course, Beavers won’t walk 20% of the time for the remainder of his career, but the fact that he’s done so through his first 20-plus career games is evidence that he’s not overwhelmed by big league pitching.

Patience has always been a critical part of Beavers’ game, as the lefty contact hitter with a funky swing posted a 15.6% walk rate in college, 14.1% in the minors and 16.3% in Triple-A this season.

His understanding of the strike zone has also been crucial in his success when he does swing the bat. Most of the pitches he sees when he gets ahead in the count, naturally, are fastballs. Against those heaters entering Sunday, Beavers is hitting .638 with an .818 slugging percentage.

“I had no idea that this would be a part of this game,” Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said about Beavers’ penchant for walks. “I asked [hitting coach] Cody Asche yesterday during the game if he did this in the minor leagues, and he said, ‘Yes, but he’s probably doing it a little bit better right now.’ To me, the walks, obviously part of the skill set of swing decisions and swinging at good pitches, a good approach. But I think, more than anything, the reason why he walked is because he’s comfortable here in the big leagues.

“I think this staff and the guys here they got to kind of take that as a compliment for a young kid to come in and be able to kind of function that way. I think it’s a feather in the cap to the minor league staff, to the major league staff, to everybody here — our players here, our leadership in the clubhouse — to give this guy the feeling and the comfort that he can kind of be himself and take the at-bats that he wants to take.”

What wasn’t?

This time last year, Orioles fans were calculating magic numbers, wondering which home game the team could clinch a playoff spot. Two years ago, the Orioles were only days away from celebrating the club’s first postseason berth since 2016.

This September, it’s Ravens season.

The Orioles played Sunday, and it was the latest embarrassing loss in a season filled with them. Hardly anyone noticed because Baltimore fans have moved on to football season. The Ravens, in case you somehow missed it, actually held onto a fourth-quarter lead to beat the Browns, 41-17, on Sunday.

The Orioles, meanwhile, are only a few days away from being eliminated from playoff contention.

What’s next?

A series against one of the league’s worst teams, and another chance to play spoiler.

The Orioles travel to Chicago to take on the lowly White Sox (57-93) in a three-game series that begins Monday. Baltimore then returns home Thursday for a four-game set against a Yankees team that is 3 1/2 games back of the Blue Jays.

The Orioles have played spoiler to the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers this month, and they could make the Yankees’ path to a second straight AL East crown much more difficult.

On the farm

Enrique Bradfield Jr. on Sunday hit his first career home run at Triple-A, blasting a 403-foot long ball to center field.

The outfielder is mostly known for his speed and defense, but he hit well in Double-A (.269 batting average, .779 OPS) to earn a promotion to Triple-A Norfolk earlier this month. Bradfield, the Orioles’ No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America, was struggling through his first 10 games at the new level, but he went 2-for-4 with three batted balls over 90 mph Sunday.

If Bradfield starts hot next year, he could be a center field option for the Orioles later in the season.

Extra innings

• Chayce McDermott was added to the Orioles’ medical taxi squad Saturday but wasn’t the one recalled to provide bullpen help Sunday. It’s possible the Orioles promoted Carson Ragsdale to provide length Sunday, which he did by allowing eight runs in three innings Sunday. Mansolino said there are “still moving pieces” regarding what the Orioles will do with McDermott. It’s possible Ragsdale is optioned Monday and McDermott, a pitching prospect who’s impressed as a reliever in recent weeks, is recalled.

• Mansolino provided several injury updates Sunday. Rutschman (oblique) took batting practice on the field this weekend and is expected to go out on a minor league rehabilitation assignment this week. Jordan Westburg (ankle) could rejoin the Orioles this week in Chicago after a rehab assignment with “a lot of positive signs.” Dean Kremer (forearm) came out of his bullpen session Friday feeling healthy and will likely make his next start after having his previous one skipped. Trevor Rogers (toe) and Tomoyuki Sugano (ankle) are also on track to make their next starts after they were dinged up in their outings against the Blue Jays. Reliever Shawn Dubin, who was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday, is undergoing an MRI on Monday in Baltimore. “There’s some concern there,” Mansolino said.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.