Detroit Tigers can’t complete comeback in 5-3 loss to Baltimore Orioles in series finale

But the Tigers still lost, 5-3, in Sunday’s series finale at Comerica Park.

Left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve allowed a solo home run to Jorge Mateo in the top of the ninth inning, which put the Orioles ahead by two runs. The Tigers (10-17) dropped six of seven games in the season series with the Orioles, and they have lost 12 of 14 games against teams from the American League East.

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An opportunity to complete the comeback occurred in the eighth inning.

Spencer Torkelson worked a leadoff six-pitch walk against right-handed reliever Austin Voth, and with Nick Maton — a left-handed hitter — approaching from the on-deck circle, the Orioles switched pitchers.

Left-handed reliever reliever Danny Coulombe entered to face Maton, but Hinch unloaded his bench for more favorable matchups. Eric Haase (right-handed hitter) pinch-hit for Maton but struck out swinging.

Then, Zack Short (right-handed hitter) pinch-hit for Akil Baddoo (left-handed hitter). The Tigers didn’t want their lefty hitters facing a lefty pitcher. Short blooped Coulombe’s fifth-pitch fastball into shallow left-center field for a single.

That put two runners on base.

Coulombe bounced back by striking out Matt Vierling, a right-handed hitter, on seven pitches without throwing a single pitch inside the strike zone. Vierling struck out looking at an up-and-in sweeper, which should not have been called a strike by home plate umpire Doug Eddings.

With two outs, the Orioles swapped from lefty reliever Coulombe to righty reliever Yennier Cano. Cano, one of the best relievers in baseball right now, struck out Jake Rogers with a changeup to end the eighth inning.

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The Tigers stranded two runners.

Cano, who has sent down 32 of 33 batters this season, returned for the ninth inning, protecting a 5-3 lead, and retired three batters in a row: Andy Ibáñez (groundout), Zach McKintry (strikeout) and Riley Greene (groundout ).

SUBHEAD

The Orioles scored four runs in the first five innings: three runs off right-hander Spencer Turnbull and one run off left-hander Tyler Holton. Turnbull, who wasn’t at his best, allowed three runs (two earned runs) on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in four innings.

He threw 50 of 83 pitches for strikes.

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A leadoff walk, followed by second baseman Zach McKinstry’s fielding error, led to the Orioles’ first run in the second inning, as Ryan O’Hearn ripped a curveball for an RBI single to right field.

Back-to-back doubles from Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle produced the Orioles’ second run, but Turnbull retired the next three batters to avoid further damage in the third inning.

In the fourth, Adam Frazier launched Turnbull’s second-pitch fastball for a solo home run to right field.

The homer put the Orioles ahead, 3-0.

Turnbull threw 43 fastballs, 19 sliders, 11 changeups, seven sinkers and three curveballs, generated just nine whiffs on six fastballs, two sliders and one sinker. He also recorded 18 called strikes.

The Tigers called on Holton to start the fifth inning. Mountcastle greeted the left-handed reliever with a leadoff double, then advanced to third base on a groundout and scored on Austin Hays’ sacrifice fly for a 4-0 advantage.

SUBHEAD

Trailing 4-0, the Tigers clawed their way back into the game with a three-run fifth inning against right-hander Kyle Bradish. The Orioles’ starter allowed three runs on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 4⅔ innings.

He retired 12 of 15 batters before the fifth inning.

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The fifth inning started with a grounder and continued with a bang.

Jake Rogers followed Matt Vierling’s leadoff single by hammering Bradish’s sinker for a 410-foot two-run home run to left-center field. It was Rogers’ third homer in 18 games this season.

The Tigers kept the comeback alive with two outs when Riley Greene hit a line-drive single to center field. Javier Báez scored Greene from first base — cutting the deficit to 4-3 — when he doubled to left-center field on Bradish’s full-count slider inside the strike zone.

Facing lefty reliever Cionel Pérez, left-handed hitter Nick Maton struck out swinging at a pitch below the strike zone on a check swing. The check swing, and the call from the umpire, ended the fifth inning.