The starting rotation takes a turn for the worse

Over the last four games, it was the previously struggling Chris Tillman that gave the Orioles their lone solid start on the mound. He pitched seven scoreless innings on one hit Friday night against Detroit.

But in the three games wrapping around his start, Orioles starters have an ERA of 12.15. Alex Cobb, Dylan Bundy and Andrew Cashner have combined to pitch 13 1/3 innings, allowing 28 hits and 20 runs (18 earned).

O's pitching has allowed 26 runs the last four games and that includes the shutout win on Friday. Over the last 10 games, O's pitchers have allowed 59 runs as the team ERA increased from 4.65 to 4.96.

After pitching to an ERA of 2.50 over his first three Orioles starts, Cashner has an ERA of 7.31 in his past three. Last night, he allowed seven runs (six earned) over four innings. The six earned runs are a season high and his most in a start since Sept. 12, 2016, when he allowed seven at Atlanta.

"Yeah, I just wasn't really commanding the off-speed in the zone and when I did, it was middle," Cashner said as he fell to 1-4 with an ERA of 4.76. "But I think I made some good pitches with my fastball and it was just a lot of missed hits that were just a little short. But that's a part of throwing the sinker. You have to live and die with it. Some nights are better than others, but the breaks just went the other way."

Cashner didn't want to give Miguel Cabrera anything to hit when he faced him with runners on second and third and two outs in the top of the second. The Orioles were already down 2-0. Cashner wanted to bury a breaking ball, but he hung it instead and a 2-0 game turned into 5-0 on Cabrera's 465th career home run.

"Yeah, with the base open, I've just got to make a better pitch. I was trying to go curveball in the dirt there and I left it up," he said after losing his third straight start.

The Orioles' record is now 7-20 and they are 12 1/2 games behind Boston in the American League East. They have lost six of seven, 12 of 14 and 14 of 17 games. They are 2-5 on a long homestand that ends this afternoon.

More O's and Detroit notes:

* The Orioles have been outscored 29-8 in the first inning this year. They began last night with a team ERA of 8.65 in the opening inning, which ranked 29th in the majors.

* Manny Machado has hit safely in all five games against Detroit this season, hitting .500 (10-for-20). He is batting .388 (19-for-49) in 14 home games and entered play third in the AL in home batting average. Since not producing a home run or RBI in his first seven games of 2018, Machado is batting .405 with nine homers, 22 RBIs and 10 multi-hit games. He has 36 hits in April, setting a career high for the month. His previous high of 35 came in April 2013.

* The Tigers are 4-1 versus the Orioles this year and they ended a 22-inning scoreless stretch in the first inning last night.

* Cabrera drove in a season-high five runs, his most since also driving in five Sept. 27, 2016 against Cleveland. It was the 15th game of his career with five or more RBIs; his teams have gone 14-1 in these games. In 67 career games against Baltimore, he is batting .369 (93-for-252) with 14 doubles, 22 home runs, 46 runs and 68 RBIs. Cabrera leads all active players with a .461 on-base percentage and .694 slugging percentage against the Orioles.

* Anthony Santander recorded his first career triple in the fifth inning. Over his past three games, he is batting .500 (6-for-12) with a double, triple and two runs scored.

Check it out: There are some interesting new food items for fans this year at Camden Yards. Today at 12:30 p.m. on "O's Xtra" on MASN2, you can get see more on this with two interesting food critics you may know. That's coming later today on MASN2.