DETROIT — Zach Eflin wasn’t panicked after one of the Orioles’ worst games of the season Friday night.

Instead of catastrophizing about the state of the club, he stuck with the certainties that baseball — and the universe — provide.

“Sun’s going to come up tomorrow, and we’re going to be prepared for it,” the veteran pitcher said calmly.

Even more important than that star 93 million miles away, Corbin Burnes rose to the occasion Saturday night to steer the Orioles to perhaps their most pivotal win of the season. Baltimore’s ace pitched like it across seven magnificent innings in the Orioles’ 4-2 win after the club was nearly no-hit Friday.

“That’s what your ace does, right?” catcher James McCann said. “That’s what your No. 1 does: stops the bleeding. He gave us a chance to win [and] threw the ball extremely well today.”

The dominant outing was perhaps Burnes’ best of the season. It’s his first scoreless start of the year, while the two hits he allowed, the seven batters he struck out and the 18 whiffs he generated all ranked among his bests this year.

“Best start of the year for him,” manager Brandon Hyde said.

The Orioles’ offense began the game sluggish, although the Tigers’ perfect game and no-hit bids both ended in the first two innings. Then Cedric Mullins delivered an RBI single in the third, and the Orioles broke out for three insurance runs in the seventh on McCann’s sacrifice fly and Gunnar Henderson’s scorching two-run homer.Seranthony Domínguez allowed two runs in the ninth as the Tigers (76-73) brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but the Orioles’ closer escaped his own jam to secure Burnes’ win.

Baltimore is 84-65 and drops its magic number to clinch a playoff berth to six. The Orioles are two games back of the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East and two games up on the Kansas City Royals for the AL’s top wild-card spot.

“This was a big win for us,” McCann said. “It’s no secret that the ball hasn’t been bouncing our way, that things haven’t gone our way. But one thing about this clubhouse we’ve stayed close through it all. We are going to keep driving together. We understand that it’s a marathon of a season, we’re not going to let one month, two months define us.

“It’s one of the strengths of this team: We are going to keep fighting.”

Friday’s defeat, while only one tally in the loss column, was the 2024 Orioles’ rock bottom. They failed to reach base through seven innings — six outs away from being on the receiving end of the 25th perfect game in MLB history and the first in combined fashion. Then, they were one out away from being no-hit for only the eighth time in club history (since 1954) before Gunnar Henderson’s triple in the ninth inning.

“It’s one game,” Hyde said after Friday’s loss.

That, of course, is true. But the offense’s anemic performance wasn’t an anomaly. Entering Saturday, the Orioles had scored only 15 runs across their previous eight games — hitting .182 with a .558 OPS in them. During that stretch, in which they went 2-6, the Orioles went from a half-game ahead of the Yankees to three behind them.

“We’re down to what, the last two weeks of the season? Obviously games feel bigger,” McCann said. “That’s something I try and be around to talk to guys about. A lot of guys in April, it’s, ‘Oh, it’s just April, it’s just April.’ Well those games mean something when you get to those last two weeks. A game is a game. Yes, it does feel bigger, but at the same time we can’t let it feel that way to where it consumes us.”

Saturday’s performance hardly counts as a breakout, but it was enough to win. Henderson doubled with two outs in the third and scored on Mullins’ line-drive single to center field — a clutch hit that’s become rare for Baltimore in recent weeks.

As Burnes methodically mowed down Detroit’s hitters, the offense finally provided him with additional run support in the seventh. Emmanuel Rivera and Livan Soto — two post-trade deadline newcomers in Saturday’s starting lineup over youngsters Coby Mayo and Jackson Holliday — reached base on a hit-by-pitch and a double, respectively. McCann drove in Rivera with a sacrifice fly, and Henderson lined his 37th home run — tied for fifth in the majors — to put Baltimore up 4-0.

“Any time we can create some separation runs wise, as you saw in the ninth inning, the better we’re for it,” Hyde said. “That’s something we’ve had a tough time with this year, and [Henderson’s home run] was a huge hit for us at the time.”

Soto joined Henderson and Mullins as Orioles batters with multiple hits. It was just the second game Soto has started this season after spending much of his time on the roster relegated to the bench.

“I’m just really grateful and thankful to be here. And still be here right now,” Soto said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I’m just trying to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way.”

For most of this season, Burnes has been everything the Orioles hoped for when they acquired the 29-year-old right-hander in the offseason. He will likely earn AL Cy Young Award votes, and he started the Midsummer Classic. But August was one of the worst months of the seven-year veteran’s career, as he allowed 28 runs and posted a 7.36 ERA across five starts.

In September, he’s returned to form with only three earned runs allowed across 18 innings, including Saturday’s gem.

“That’s the best I’ve seen him in a long time,” McCann said.

Burnes was happy with his ability to get weak contact. Only one of the 15 balls Detroit put in play was hit harder than 95 mph. Eighteen of the 21 outs he recorded were either via strikeout or groundout.

“If I can go out and execute pitches and command the cutter and spin the ball the way I want to, I can do this on every given night,” Burnes said. “Month of August, we didn’t do that. I left a lot of balls up. I left a lot of balls over the plate. So just a matter of kind of honing in on the mechanics and sequencing and getting the ball where I wanted.”

Cionel Pérez relieved Burnes with a scoreless eighth — the left-hander’s 97th straight outing without allowing a home run — but it got dicey for Domínguez in the ninth. Parker Meadows led off the inning with a solo homer, and Spencer Torkelson hit an RBI single with two outs to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. But after a team meeting at the mound, Domínguez hunkered down to get Zach McKinstry to ground out to first and seal the bounce-back victory.

There was no on-field excitement or celebration after O’Hearn stepped on the bag for the last out. Instead, the triumph felt like a sigh of relief.

McCann said there wasn’t one thing that was said or done to move the Orioles past Friday’s loss. Instead, he believes Saturday’s win defines this club more than Friday’s defeat.

“I wouldn’t say there’s one thing we can point to that helped us get over last night’s loss other than that’s who we are as a team,” McCann said. “We aren’t going to let one game get us down.”

Around the horn

In the ninth inning, Gregory Soto and Matt Bowman were warming up in the bullpen as if the Tigers had tied the game against Domínguez. Yennier Cano wasn’t an option Saturday as he’s spent the past few days dealing with arm soreness, Hyde said postgame. The sixth-year skipper hopes Cano, his setup man, is available to pitch Sunday.

Hyde said pregame that reliever Jacob Webb, who has been on the injured list with elbow inflammation since early August, will likely be activated before Sunday’s series finale. Webb was one of Hyde’s most trusted relievers before his injury.