DETROIT — Major league starting pitchers care more about a single intangible than any statistic.
More important than ERA or wins or strikeouts, MLB starters focus on giving their team a chance to win — whatever that looks like on a given day. It’s one of the biggest cliches in baseball, but it’s uttered so frequently because it’s what starting pitchers believe.
This weekend against the Tigers, the Orioles’ three starting pitchers did just that. Zach Eflin, Corbin Burnes and Cade Povich combined to allow only three runs in 18 2/3 innings to put Baltimore in position to win each game.
Instead, the Orioles won only one of three — the club’s third straight series loss — because of an offense that’s lost. Baltimore’s bats continued their September slump Sunday, scoring only two runs on Adley Rutschman’s late homer in a 4-2 loss to the Tigers.
“We’ve just got to get going offensively,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We got a two-run home run late in the game. We’re not stringing together many hits. When we’re having opportunities, we’re not cashing them in. We had a couple of opportunities early and didn’t cross them.
“We’ve got to start scoring more runs.”
Povich wasn’t as dominant as Eflin was Friday or Burnes on Saturday, but the rookie left-hander kept his team in the game. He allowed two runs on a Riley Greene third-inning homer but was otherwise sharp, striking out eight across five frames.
The offense, however, couldn’t follow suit, putting up another anemic performance to drop the rubber match.
“I think our pitching has been really good,” Hyde said. “We’ve given ourself a chance to win almost every single night out. We’re playing pretty good defense. We’re just not getting enough baserunners out there and when we do, we’re not getting them home. Nice to see Adley swing the bat the way he did today. For me, that was a positive.”
Baltimore falls to 84-66 and has lost seven of its past 10. The Orioles are three games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East and only two games ahead of the Kansas City Royals for the AL’s top wild-card spot.
The Orioles were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position before Rutschman’s two-run blast in the eighth. It was an encouraging sign for Baltimore’s catcher, who had gone 96 plate appearances since his last homer Aug. 18.
“Baseball’s just a game of ups and downs,” Rutschman said. “It’s a tough game. Everyone understands that. Our guys are really committed to their process, and everyone knows we’re going to turn it around. Everyone’s got confidence in each other.”
The Orioles have slashed .193/.266/.326 for a paltry .592 OPS over their past 10 games. In the first half of the season, the home run ball often bailed out Baltimore and its issues with runners in scoring position. But when the Orioles have experienced power outages in the second half, manufacturing runs — something the last year’s team excelled at — has been a challenge.
“At times we try to get too big,” Hyde said. “At times we have inexperience. We’re not using the whole field. We’ve got to do a better job with better at-bats with runners in scoring position.”
Co-hitting coach Ryan Fuller said before the game that the Orioles’ coaching staff has gone back to look at what made the club successful in two-strike counts and with runners in scoring position earlier in the season.
“When you struggle and you have a period when you’re not getting the job done, the thoughts in your head go from excitement of ‘I get to do this’ to ‘I have to do that, I have to get a hit here.’ When you have those feelings, those emotions come up, they make you a little bit drunk to what you need to do right now in the moment,” he said. “It’s easy to say, but it’s really tough for those guys in the box. But just making sure what’s under our control and what we can execute and then going back to those at-bats where we have had success and saying, ‘What did we do? What did it feel like? What were we trying to do with your swing? Were you trying to target a specific part of the field?’ Success often leaves clues, so we’ve been going back to that, as well.”
The homer cut the Orioles’ deficit to one, but reliever Gregory Soto allowed a solo shot to Greene to give Detroit (77-73) a two-run lead.
Jacob Webb surrendered the third run in the sixth in his first outing back after being reinstated off the injured list.
But a rally in the ninth never got off the ground as Baltimore was set down in order. The Tigers’ four pitchers — starter Keider Montero and relievers Tyler Holton, Will Vest and Jason Foley — struck out only four batters, but they kept the Orioles off-balance and induced 14 groundouts.
Despite the loss, the recent string of starts from the Orioles’ rotation is a positive heading into the postseason. Burnes, Eflin and Dean Kremer have all put up impressive outings in September, and Grayson Rodriguez could be nearing a return from the IL.
“When the starters are going well as a whole, I think it helps the staff as a whole as well in general,” Povich said. “Being able to bounce off guys and kind of continue the momentum, you know, be able to learn from each other what is working and to carry it over to all our next starts.”
The Orioles entered Sunday with a magic number of six that could have dropped to four with a win over the Tigers and a Seattle Mariners loss. Baltimore could clinch a playoff berth sometime during its homestand this week, but if the club continues to scuffle, it’s possible that won’t occur until the final week of the season.
“I think everyone here has got faith that we have the ability to do great things,” Rutschman said. “We’re just going to try to stick with our process and learn from this and keep moving forward.”
Around the horn
In addition to Webb, the Orioles on Sunday morning reinstated Heston Kjerstad off the IL. “We’re feeling good, feeling healthy,” said Kjerstad, who missed more than a month with a concussion. “I’m ready to help this team down this last push. … All of us want to provide that boost. Maybe I can bring that.” Left-hander Cole Irvin and infielder Nick Maton were designated for assignment in corresponding moves.
Sunday was Roberto Clemente Day across MLB, honoring the baseball legend and namesake for the sport’s humanitarian award. Players who have ever been a Roberto Clemente nominee and those with Puerto Rican heritage are allowed to wear Clemente’s No. 21. James McCann, who received his second nomination this year, and Emmanuel Rivera, the Orioles’ lone Puerto Rican player, both honored Clemente by wearing his number.
The Orioles’ rotation will remain on turn after Monday’s day off. Albert Suárez, Dean Kremer and Zach Eflin will take the ball for Baltimore in its three-game set against the San Francisco Giants beginning Tuesday.