And the hits just keep not coming for Orioles

The mood before Tuesday night’s game against the high-flying Detroit Tigers was decidedly hopeful.

In the Orioles’ clubhouse, Jordan Westburg waxed positive about his journey back from a lengthy stay on the injured list and his return to the starting lineup a few hours hence.

During his pregame news conference, interim manager Tony Mansolino expressed confidence that the reconstitution of something resembling the early season lineup would lead to a more consistent performance by the club’s struggling offense.

In the stands, fans waited eagerly to cheer the return of Westburg, fellow injured list escapee Cedric Mullins and popular Colton Cowser, who was about to play in his first game at Oriole Park after returning from the IL during the recent road trip.

Surely, those three talented hitters would quickly change the narrative for a team that had recently looked to be on the rebound thanks to a bit of a pitching renaissance over the previous three weeks.

That could happen any day now, but it did not happen during Tuesday night’s 5-3 loss. The Tigers and Orioles have experienced quite a role-reversal over the past year. Going into Game No. 65 in 2024, the Tigers were in fourth place in the American League Central division with a 31-33 record and the Orioles were the team that was flying high with a 42-22 record on their way to their second straight playoff berth.

They weren’t playing against each other at the time, but they appeared to be heading in different directions. Turned out, the Tigers were just starting to head in the right direction and the Orioles were about to take a subtle turn south with a 49-49 regular-season record the rest of the way.

Still, the Orioles entered this season rated – at least by the oddsmakers – as the third-best team in the American League and the Tigers were rated 10th. Since then, the reversal of fortunes has been dramatic. The Tigers have the best record in baseball and the Orioles have the sixth worst.

So it should come as no surprise that the Tigers put some big swings on Oriole starter Cade Povich and the Orioles rolled a three against the collection of Detroit relievers. They have made an unfortunate habit of forcing their pitchers to win with very scant run support and could only tease their fans with an aborted eighth-inning rally and a welcome-back solo home run by Westburg in the ninth.

After the game, Mansolino pointed to some encouraging signs such as another two-hit performance by Jackson Holliday and a clutch RBI single by Gunnar Henderson, which might portend better times ahead.

“I think as the lineup is healthy, which is right now and getting healthier, I think there’s a lot of confidence that we’ll start to string together more at-bats,” Mansolino said.

“There’s no quit … there’s no panic …they’re competing,’’ he added. “Again, the preparation day to day is outstanding. You’ve just got to keep playing.”