DETROIT \u2013 First baseman Ryan O\u2019Hearn delivered the lineup card to home plate this afternoon. The Orioles couldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re open to suggestions, because nothing they\u2019ve tried is working.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Orioles (10-17) hadn\u2019t been swept since the Cubs won three games from July 9-11. They\u2019re seven below .500 for the first time since July 4, 2022, and they\u2019ve got the first-place Yankees coming to Baltimore.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery night, box scores aren\u2019t going in our favor,\u201d said Dean Kremer. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to stay mentally engaged once things kind of start spiraling. But that\u2019s 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\u2019re going to be OK by the end of this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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 B\u00e1ez\u2019s two-run double, and Gleyber Torres\u2019s RBI single in the fifth after another walk.<\/p>\n
Kremer allowed four runs in 5 2\/3 innings while on the mound, the last on Jace Jung\u2019s soft single into center field that might have broken his bat. Cionel P\u00e9rez let an inherited runner score, and the fifth run raised Kremer\u2019 ERA to 7.04.<\/p>\n
Kremer walked four batters, and the Orioles issued 19 free passes in the series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he threw the ball well besides the walks and a couple two-out hits,\u201d said manager Brandon Hyde. \u201cI thought he had a really good fastball today. But walks are definitely hurting us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two-run inning there definitely came back to bite me in the butt,\u201d Kremer said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to take every single player on this team,\u201d said Ram\u00f3n Ur\u00edas. \u201cI mean, we are the only ones that can make it turn around, and we\u2019ve got to work on that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re losing 7-0, the energy is going to go down. But, I mean, we still have to battle and it doesn\u2019t matter what the score is. I don\u2019t think anyone is shutting it down. We just have to continue to take good at-bats during the whole game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty much, yeah,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had three guys hurt today. We\u2019re not playing the best baseball right now and we\u2019re walking too many guys on the mound. It\u2019s been rough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s different because we\u2019re supposed to win now,\u201d Ur\u00edas said. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s tough for everybody in this clubhouse, including the coaches and front office, I think. But like I said, it\u2019s on us. We\u2019ve got to work on that and try to win tomorrow. That\u2019s the best thing we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henderson described the clubhouse mood as \u201cgreat\u201d earlier today, without any concerns over how players are handling the adversity. They\u2019re getting lots of practice doing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we know we can do more, but I feel like we\u2019re making strides in the right direction,\u201d he said before the shutout. \u201cIt\u2019s a progressive mindset. You can\u2019t 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\u2019t what you want. That\u2019s just how baseball works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hyde said there isn\u2019t panic coursing through his club, and Henderson agrees with that assessment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still, what, we\u2019re 20-something games into the season?\u201d he said. \u201cYeah, just go out there and continue to get better each and every day, and I feel like we\u2019ve been putting together some good games recently. Just haven\u2019t finished it off at the end, so that\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 Ram\u00f3n Laureano\u2019s groundout, and Henderson struck out on a 99.5 mph fastball.<\/p>\n
Ur\u00edas singled with one out in the fourth and Gary S\u00e1nchez was hit by a 98.4 mph heater. First baseman Spencer Torkelson made a nice pickup of Dylan Carlson\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust trying not to do too much,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cWhenever you think about it and really try to do that, then you end up not having a lot of success in that situation. You\u2019ve just got to go up there and take what the pitcher\u2019s giving you. If they\u2019re 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\u2019t try to hit a 500-foot home run.\u201d<\/p>\n
The difference from two years ago is striking. The Orioles led the majors with a .287 average and .837 OPS with RISP in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of good that came from that season in the sense of getting the runs across, but it\u2019s also, there\u2019s a lot of different players on that team,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cWe have a lot more experience now, and so it\u2019s just getting that experience each and every year, learning how to, ’cause it\u2019s not every easy ’cause the pitcher\u2019s not wanting to give up the runs and we\u2019re wanting to score the runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust that game between the pitcher and the hitter and you\u2019re trying to figure out what they\u2019re wanting to do and just trying not to miss the mistake they throw.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019t catch any breaks.<\/p>\n
They also can\u2019t stay healthy. Jordan Westburg is hot again but dealing with hamstring soreness. Cedric Mullins, the Orioles\u2019 best hitter this season, has been taking medication for sinus headaches and is improving. Carlson replaced him in center field.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s tough, he\u2019ll be OK,\u201d said pitching coach Drew French.<\/p>\n
“Hopefully they\u2019re all better tomorrow,\u201d Hyde said.<\/p>\n
Said Ur\u00edas: \u201cObviously, this team wants to be with its best players at all times in the game, but when it\u2019s not possible, we still have to battle. We are not the only one battling with injuries. It always happens to every team. It\u2019s just another thing we have to continue to battle.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prognosis on the Orioles is getting worse, but they\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly, we want to get this turned around and nobody in this clubhouse feels good about where we\u2019re at,\u201d French said. \u201cBut we\u2019re fighting to be consistently good, and that\u2019s in all three phases of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to lose the season in April,\u201d Kremer said. \u201cWe still have five more months. It just takes a six-, seven-game win streak and then we\u2019re back at .500 and here we go.\u201d<\/p>\n
* Down on the farm, Vimael Mach\u00edn 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2013 First baseman Ryan O\u2019Hearn delivered the lineup card to home plate this afternoon. The Orioles couldn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,913,916,915,4,125,579,914,578],"class_list":{"0":"post-988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-dean-kremer","10":"tag-gunnar-henderson","11":"tag-jorge-mateo","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-orioles","14":"tag-orioles-featured","15":"tag-ramon-urias","16":"tag-roch-kubatko"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114415491042126184","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}