Orioles swept in Detroit, injuries and failing to hit with RISP remain issues

DETROIT – First baseman Ryan O’Hearn delivered the lineup card to home plate this afternoon. The Orioles couldn’t resort to sacrificing a chicken, especially with the price of eggs, but they needed to change their ways. They had to shed the bad mojo that tampered with their lineup, roster and win total.

They’re open to suggestions, because nothing they’ve tried is working.

Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal struck out 11 batters in six scoreless innings against a lineup missing three regulars, and the Tigers completed their weekend sweep with a 7-0 victory at Comerica Park.

The Orioles (10-17) hadn’t been swept since the Cubs won three games from July 9-11. They’re seven below .500 for the first time since July 4, 2022, and they’ve got the first-place Yankees coming to Baltimore.

“Every night, box scores aren’t going in our favor,” said Dean Kremer. “It’s tough to stay mentally engaged once things kind of start spiraling. But that’s the name of the job and being able to find our way out of that and keeping things positive. We have guys in the clubhouse who are plenty positive and try to pick us up. We’re going to be OK by the end of this.” 

Gunnar Henderson singled with one out in the first inning to remove any thoughts about Skubal throwing a no-hitter. Jorge Mateo, who was 1-for-19, singled twice and stole two bases by the fifth. Kremer allowed only two hits through the fifth, but he fell behind 3-0 because of two walks in the second, followed by Javier Báez’s two-run double, and Gleyber Torres’s RBI single in the fifth after another walk.

Kremer allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings while on the mound, the last on Jace Jung’s soft single into center field that might have broken his bat. Cionel Pérez let an inherited runner score, and the fifth run raised Kremer’ ERA to 7.04.

Kremer walked four batters, and the Orioles issued 19 free passes in the series.

“I thought he threw the ball well besides the walks and a couple two-out hits,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “I thought he had a really good fastball today. But walks are definitely hurting us.”

“The two-run inning there definitely came back to bite me in the butt,” Kremer said.

The Tigers took another big chunk out of the Orioles by scoring twice off Michigan native Grant Wolfram in the seventh. Baltimore has lost six of seven.

“I think it’s going to take every single player on this team,” said Ramón Urías. “I mean, we are the only ones that can make it turn around, and we’ve got to work on that.

“If we’re losing 7-0, the energy is going to go down. But, I mean, we still have to battle and it doesn’t matter what the score is. I don’t think anyone is shutting it down. We just have to continue to take good at-bats during the whole game.”

Hyde lived through the rebuild but may be experiencing his toughest stretch as manager due to the high expectations that accompanied the Orioles into the 2025 season.

“Pretty much, yeah,” he said. “We had three guys hurt today. We’re not playing the best baseball right now and we’re walking too many guys on the mound. It’s been rough.”

“It’s different because we’re supposed to win now,” Urías said. “Obviously, it’s tough for everybody in this clubhouse, including the coaches and front office, I think. But like I said, it’s on us. We’ve got to work on that and try to win tomorrow. That’s the best thing we can do.”

Henderson described the clubhouse mood as “great” earlier today, without any concerns over how players are handling the adversity. They’re getting lots of practice doing it.

“Obviously, we know we can do more, but I feel like we’re making strides in the right direction,” he said before the shutout. “It’s a progressive mindset. You can’t just all of a sudden, one day it clicks and you just start getting back to your normal self. It takes a little bit of time, which I know isn’t what you want. That’s just how baseball works.”

Hyde said there isn’t panic coursing through his club, and Henderson agrees with that assessment.

“It’s still, what, we’re 20-something games into the season?” he said. “Yeah, just go out there and continue to get better each and every day, and I feel like we’ve been putting together some good games recently. Just haven’t finished it off at the end, so that’s the next step is just to continue to put up more runs each and every day and just help our pitchers out a little bit.”

The Orioles are 6-for-60 with runners in scoring position and have left 54 on base since Easter. They went 0-for-9 today and stranded seven.

Mateo singled into right field at 65.5 mph to lead off the second inning, but shortstop Trey Sweeney made a diving catch to rob Jackson Holliday. Mateo stole second base and was running on Ramón Laureano’s groundout, and Henderson struck out on a 99.5 mph fastball.

Urías singled with one out in the fourth and Gary Sánchez was hit by a 98.4 mph heater. First baseman Spencer Torkelson made a nice pickup of Dylan Carlson’s ground ball and got the force at second base, and Heston Kjerstad struck out for the second of four times to leave runners on the corners.

Mateo led off the fifth with a single and swiped second base, but Holliday struck out on a changeup, Laureano struck out on a 98.6 mph fastball and Henderson flied out. At that point, the Orioles were 0-for-6 with RISP and stranded five.

“Just trying not to do too much,” Henderson said. “Whenever you think about it and really try to do that, then you end up not having a lot of success in that situation. You’ve just got to go up there and take what the pitcher’s giving you. If they’re trying to work around you, then take your walk, and then if you get a good pitch to hit, just put a good swing on it and don’t try to hit a 500-foot home run.”

The difference from two years ago is striking. The Orioles led the majors with a .287 average and .837 OPS with RISP in 2023.

“There’s a lot of good that came from that season in the sense of getting the runs across, but it’s also, there’s a lot of different players on that team,” Henderson said. “We have a lot more experience now, and so it’s just getting that experience each and every year, learning how to, 'cause it’s not every easy 'cause the pitcher’s not wanting to give up the runs and we’re wanting to score the runs.

“Just that game between the pitcher and the hitter and you’re trying to figure out what they’re wanting to do and just trying not to miss the mistake they throw.”

The fourth inning began with Ryan Mountcastle grounding out at 106.3 mph. Torkelson made a terrific play on Carlson. Holliday was denied earlier on the diving grab up the middle. The Orioles can’t catch any breaks.

They also can’t stay healthy. Jordan Westburg is hot again but dealing with hamstring soreness. Cedric Mullins, the Orioles’ best hitter this season, has been taking medication for sinus headaches and is improving. Carlson replaced him in center field.

Adley Rutschman has a swollen right hand after being struck last night while blocking a ball in the dirt. He walked past the media gathered outside the clubhouse with assistant athletic trainer Mark Shires following Game 2 and appeared to be headed for the X-ray room.

“He’s tough, he’ll be OK,” said pitching coach Drew French.

"Hopefully they’re all better tomorrow,” Hyde said.

Said Urías: “Obviously, this team wants to be with its best players at all times in the game, but when it’s not possible, we still have to battle. We are not the only one battling with injuries. It always happens to every team. It’s just another thing we have to continue to battle.”

The prognosis on the Orioles is getting worse, but they’ve got a lot of season left to play. Someone else probably will carry the lineup card to home plate Monday evening. Improvements in the rotation and clutch hitting would be a better solution.

“Certainly, we want to get this turned around and nobody in this clubhouse feels good about where we’re at,” French said. “But we’re fighting to be consistently good, and that’s in all three phases of the game.”

“It’s really hard to lose the season in April,” Kremer said. “We still have five more months. It just takes a six-, seven-game win streak and then we’re back at .500 and here we go.”

* Down on the farm, Vimael Machín hit his second home run today for Triple-A Norfolk, a two-run shot, and had a tie-breaking RBI single in the seventh. Coby Mayo tripled, singled and scored twice on Emmanuel Rivera singles.