SAN DIEGO — On the first day of September, the San Diego Padres lost to a bad team and suffered what seemed to be a bad loss.

The latter could haunt them into October.

In the seventh inning, relief pitcher Jason Adam crumpled to the ground after making a move to field a ball hit back up the middle and grabbed his left leg in obvious pain.

He remained on the ground holding his leg and quickly motioned to the dugout that he needed attention.

Adam, an All-Star and among the league leaders in most pertinent categories, appeared to tell the Padres athletic trainers on the field that he felt something pop. He was eventually carted off the field.

The Padres went on to lose 4-3 to the Orioles on Monday in a game that felt like it might carry more significance than just a loss with 24 games remaining in the regular season.

All-Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., who had clutched at his right hamstring after chasing a fly ball Sunday was scratched shortly before the game with what was described by the team as “lower half tightness.” The move was said to be made in abundance of caution.

But with shortstop Xander Bogaerts on the injured list at least another couple weeks with a fracture in his left foot, Monday was a vivid reminder of the fragility of a team with big aspirations.

The Padres hold the second of two wild-card playoff spots and sit 21/2 behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

But the fact they have lost six of their past eight games seems like a minor concern in the face of injuries and the state of their starting pitching.

Adam had allowed a one-out single by Jeremiah Jackson before the fateful grounder that ended his day and went for an infield single by Gunnar Henderson.

That left runners at first and second with one out for Robert Suarez.

The Padres’ closer struck out Colton Cowser before Dylan Beavers grounded a single through the right side to drive in Jackson and give the Orioles a 4-3 lead.

It was their third time leading and the third Padres pitcher they scored against.

They took a 2-0 lead in the second inning against Dylan Cease on an infield single, a walk, a wild pitch and Samuel Basalloo’s double, all with one out.

Cease was done after four innings, having thrown 91 pitches.

Monday was the fourth consecutive game Cease allowed multiple runs within the first five innings and the third one of those in which he did not complete five innings.

Unfortunately for the Padres, Cease has not been the only one not pulling his weight lately.

Padres starting pitchers have combined to throw 24 innings over their past six games, not including the bullpen game the Padres put together Sunday in Minneapolis.

In five of those games, they have allowed at least four runs.

It is putting the Padres offense behind and putting their bullpen in a bind.

The high-leverage relievers that have people around the league talking about the Padres as having the potential to make a deep playoff run are supposed to be pitching when the Padres are ahead.

But there was Adrian Morejón starting the fifth inning in a 2-2 game and Adam coming on in the sixth inning in a 3-3 game.

Morejón allowed his first home run, a 426-foot blast to center field by Jeremiah Jackson that gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

The Padres, who came back in the second inning with two runs on a pair of walks and successive two-out singles by Freddy Fermin and Luis Arraez, answered immediately again.

Fermin began the bottom of the fifth by laying down a bunt and reaching base on pitcher Dietrich Enns’ throwing error. Fermin advanced to second on Arraez’s sacrifice bunt, to third on Manny Machado’s fly ball out to right field and scored on a two-out single by Ramón Laureano.

After Morejón got the first two outs, Adam finished the top of the sixth.

The Padres got two more hits against the three Orioles relievers who closed out the game.

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