DETROIT -- The Orioles lost 7-0 to the Tigers on Sunday afternoon, ending a streak of 30 consecutive series without getting swept dating back to July 11 against the Cubs. Baltimore left Comerica Park having allowed 17 runs and scoring only five times.
Detroit¡¯s Tarik Skubal blanked them for the first six innings in the series finale, while Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings.
The Tigers (18-10) had too much in every way against Baltimore (10-17), which had its team ERA balloon to 5.37, worst in the Majors, while its batting average dipped to .223 for 26th in the Majors.
Nothing is going well for the Orioles, a 2024 playoff team that has lost six of seven games beginning with a 24-2 blowout loss to the Reds last Sunday.
Injuries have been a major reason for Baltimore¡¯s slide. It has seven starting pitchers on the injured list, along with starting outfielders Tyler O¡¯Neill and Colton Cowser. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde decided three starters -- catcher Adley Rutschman (sore right throwing hand), designated hitter Jordan Westburg (sore hamstring) and center fielder Cedric Mullins (illness) -- needed to be rested on Sunday.
¡°But injuries happen,¡± said Hyde. ¡°We faced a really good pitcher today. That¡¯s one of the best pitchers in baseball ¡ if not number one. And that¡¯s the best pitching staff we¡¯ve seen. It¡¯s a tough team to score against.
¡°We¡¯re going through a tough time right now. Hopefully, we can get out of this and start playing better baseball.¡±
Hyde was asked after Sunday¡¯s game if this has been the most difficult stretch of his managerial career.
¡°Pretty much, yeah,¡± said Hyde. ¡°With three guys hurt today, we¡¯re not playing the best baseball right now. We¡¯re walking too many and it¡¯s been rough.¡±
Keep in mind that Hyde, with a 416-481 record in seven seasons with Baltimore, was part of the franchise¡¯s rebuild. He endured seasons with 108 and 110 losses before winning the American League East in 2023 (101-61) and going 91-71 last season.
As a result, going through a dismal stretch after great success has been more difficult for the 51-year-old skipper than losing with teams that boast low expectations.
One thing the Orioles have going for them is that they have 135 games remaining. Injured outfielders and pitchers, such as Kyle Bradish and Zach Eflin will return, and veteran Kyle Gibson could be added to the staff as early as this week.
¡°It¡¯s really hard to lose this season in April,¡± stressed Kremer, who dropped to 2-4 with a 7.04 ERA. ¡°We still have five more months, and it just takes a six-, seven-game win streak and we¡¯re back at .500. Here we go.
¡°Every night the box scores aren¡¯t going in our favor, and it¡¯s tough to stay mentally engaged once things start spiraling. But that¡¯s the name of the job, and being able to find our way out of that, keeping things positive. We have guys in the clubhouse who are plenty positive and try to pick us up. And we¡¯re going to be OK by the end of this year.¡±
Kremer allowed four walks (three of which scored) and four hits, while striking out three -- including two K's against the dangerous Riley Greene.
¡°The walks are definitely hurting us,¡± said Hyde, who had both Charlie Morton and Brandon Young walk five in their outings against Detroit on Saturday. ¡°[Kremer] threw the ball well besides the walks. He had a really good fastball.¡±
After losing Saturday¡¯s doubleheader, Hyde said, ¡°I don¡¯t sense any panic. Nobody¡¯s overly snapping or anything like that. Everybody¡¯s getting along fine, but we¡¯re losing tough games right now, and it¡¯ll wear on you a little bit.¡±
All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who was 1-for-4 Sunday as the designated hitter and is batting .220 with two homers and four RBIs this year, was asked prior to the game if he sensed any panic.
¡°We¡¯re still 20-something games into the season,¡± emphasized Henderson. ¡°So it¡¯s just go out there and continue to get better each and every day. I feel like we¡¯ve been putting together some good games recently, and we just haven¡¯t finished it off at the end. That¡¯s the next step. To continue to put up more runs each and every day, and help our pitchers out a little bit.
¡°You need to keep getting back to your normal self. I know it takes time. I know that isn¡¯t what you want, but that¡¯s just how baseball works.¡±