BALTIMORE -- Orioles fans don’t boo often, but when they do, they prefer to boo Ubaldo Jimenez.

In the top of the fourth inning of Friday’s 13-3 loss to Toronto, the frequently forgiving fans at Camden Yards rained boos down on reliever Ubaldo Jimenez after he allowed a three-run homer to Blue Jays outfielder Michael Saunders.

And no, you didn’t read that last sentence wrong: reliever Ubaldo Jimenez.

If the Orioles’ goal was to make fans feel good about Jimenez -- the 32-year-old vet who was demoted to the bullpen after lasting just a third of an inning in his most recent start -- having him relieve Mike Wright was as good a strategy as any. Or so it seemed.

But as ineffective as Wright was in the series opener, allowing eight runs on six hits (including three jacks) in three-plus innings, Jimenez was just as bad, if not worse. The first five batters Jimenez faced went like this: triple, walk, home run, double, home run. It was after that first bomb, the one by Saunders (his second of three dingers in the game), that the boo-birds starting booing the Birds.

At the time, it was hard to tell whether O’s fans were jeering A) Jimenez, B) Wright, C) the Orioles organization for not having a better option than Jimenez or Wright, or D) all of the above.

What’s easy to see is that if the Orioles -- who have been in first place for the majority of the season -- have any chance of staying at or near the top of the American League East, they need to make some changes to the rotation, and stat.

Including Friday’s debacle, Wright and Jimenez have started a total of 25 games and have a combined 6.73 ERA that goes a long way toward explaining why the Baltimore rotation has the third-highest ERA in the AL (4.93). The hope is that offseason acquisition Yovani Gallardo, who went on the DL in late April and returns Saturday, can help stabilize the staff. But given how hittable he has been over the past year (1.71 WHIP since last season’s All-Star break), that seems like wishful thinking. Even if Gallardo resembles the Gallardo of old, Baltimore’s starting five still has issues. Major issues.

Aside from ace Chris Tillman, who has been studly enough to merit legit Cy Young consideration, the rest of the rotation is riddled with question marks. When will former first-rounder Kevin Gausman start fulfilling his promise (and win a game)? How much longer can soft-tossing Tyler Wilson impersonate a major league pitcher? Can Gallardo regain his form? Can Robin save Batman from the calamitous clutches of the evil Penguin (just checking to see if you’re actually still reading)? Throw in the double-dose of ugliness from Wright and Jimenez on Friday, and the O’s are in serious trouble rotation-wise.

It’s the kind of trouble that trades are made of. Problem is, when it comes to trade bait, the Orioles -- whose farm system was ranked 27th by Baseball America in February -- don’t have a whole lot to offer in return. Even if they did, with a thin free-agent pitching class this offseason, there aren’t likely to be a whole lot of options out there.

For now, Buck Showalter’s club has more immediate concerns -- like who will start five days from now, when Wright’s turn in the rotation comes up again. The whole situation is complicated by the return of Gallardo and shortstop J.J. Hardy, who’s also expected to be activated on Saturday.

“Mike's an option for us next Wednesday,” Showalter said. “We'll consider where we are. But we have to make two spots tomorrow. Pretty complicated. After each game, especially one like this, the chairs kind of move around.”