BALTIMORE — Kyle Gibson couldn’t locate his pitches in the first inning. He walked two batters, loaded the bases with one out and gifted the Detroit Tigers with an opportunity to score.
But the Tigers let Gibson off the hook.
The Tigers lost, 5-1, to the Baltimore Orioles in the second of three games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The third loss in a row came as Gibson fired six innings of one-run, two-hit ball and matched his career high with 11 strikeouts. Detroit had two hits, four walks and 15 strikeouts against three pitchers.
“I don’t think we were very good offensively,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We chased a little bit. We walked early when he was nibbling, and then we adjusted before he did, and the next thing you know, we’re chasing outside of the zone and getting into a lot of bad counts. … When you look back on it, it’s a disappointing night.”
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The rise and fall of the Tigers (7-12) happened with one out in the first inning when three straight batters — Javier Báez (single), Riley Greene (walk) and Kerry Carpenter (walk) — reached safely to load the bases for Spencer Torkelson.
The 2020 No. 1 overall pick, who entered the game with two walks in 73 plate appearances this season, received five consecutive down-and-away pitches. All the Tigers needed was a single to right field.
Instead, Torkelson struck out swinging.
“He didn’t really miss over the plate,” Torkelson said. “I bet if you go back, you can count on one hand how many mistakes he threw, so tip your cap to that. He kept us off balance, kept (the ball) away and definitely kept it out of the heart of the plate. It is what it is.”
Zach McKinstry, batting sixth in the lineup for the first time, took three consecutive balls for a 3-0 count. The fourth pitch, a sinker, was outside the strike zone but called for a strike by home plate umpire Vic Carapazza, making the count 3-1. McKinstry lined out to right field on the next pitch, despite a 107.4 mph exit velocity, to end the inning.
The Tigers stranded the bases loaded and failed to generate any momentum on offense until the seventh inning.
“Our guys looked a little bit in-between, both plan and stuff,” Hinch said. “That’s a bad place to be.”
With one out in the seventh, McKinstry tagged Gibson’s 0-2 sinker for a solo home run to right-center field. The Tigers’ second hit of the game cut the deficit to 5-1 and ended Gibson’s brilliant outing.
Gibson, who had a 5.05 ERA in 31 starts last season, allowed one run on two hits and three walks across 6⅓ innings, throwing 59 of 96 pitches for strikes. He generated 18 whiffs and 25 called strikes.
Torkelson, batting .222 in 19 games, finished 0-for-3 with one walk and two strikeouts. He crushed a middle-middle changeup in his third plate appearance against Gibson, but the ball was caught in deep center field for the first out in the seventh.
“Just keeping it away,” Torkelson said. “Sinkers backdoor and sliders away, and then mixing in the changeup. That’s a good pitch for him. I felt like I saw his stuff well, just he didn’t really miss a whole lot. The one pitch he missed, it seemed like I hammered it.”
Leadoff hitter Nick Maton, batting .131 in 18 games, went 0-for-4 with one strikeout and hasn’t recorded a hit since his walk-off home run April 15 against the San Francisco Giants at Comerica Park.
Wentz falls apart
Left-hander Joey Wentz filled up the strike zone and looked sharp until the third inning.
Gunner Henderson opened the frame with a single, and with one out, he advanced to second base on a balk and moved up to third base on a wild pitch. Wentz struck out Austin Hays for the second out, then everything fell apart. He kept working ahead in counts but struggled to put away hitters.
“Overall, I thought my stuff was pretty good,” Wentz said. “I kind of failed to make a big pitch to a couple different guys.”
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Adley Rutschman, the 2019 No. 1 overall pick, fell behind 0-2 in the count but blooped an elevated fastball into left field, driving in the first run of the game. A single and a walk from Ryan Mountcastle (behind 0-2 in the count) and Anthony Santander (behind 0-2 in the count), respectively, loaded the bases.
Ramón Urías, who fell behind 0-1 in the count, clobbered a second-pitch fastball for a bases-clearing double off the right-field wall. The Orioles took a 4-0 lead before Wentz escaped further damage.
“I slipped when I picked my foot up,” Wentz said of the balk in the third inning. “I look back at the situation, even after the wild pitch, I got the punch out. Two outs, still nobody in. They ended up with four (runs). That was poor on my part.”
The Orioles scored their final run in the fourth inning.
Ex-Tiger James McCann hit three home runs in 61 games for the New York Mets last season. Against Wentz’s elevated fastball, McCann notched his first homer with the Orioles to take a 5-0 advantage.
Wentz allowed five runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts across four innings, throwing 45 of 72 pitches for strikes. He recorded eight whiffs, including three with his changeup, and 12 called strikes.
His fastball averaged 94.4 mph.
“I don’t think he had his complete arsenal the whole time, but there was a lot on his fastball,” Hinch said. “He’s well rested. He threw some pretty good changeups. They wore him down. I think the Rutschman at-bats were really big.”
Vest is best
After Wentz, the Tigers turned to right-hander Will Vest.
It was Vest’s first appearance of the 2023 season. He was recalled from Triple-A Toledo before Saturday’s game with righty reliever Trey Wingenter landing on the 15-day injured list with shoulder tendinitis.
Vest posted two perfect innings with four strikeouts, throwing 17 of 25 pitches for strikes.
“He was locked in like last year,” Hinch said. “He’s a strike-thrower and will attack. He was super-aggressive with the fastball, slider and changeup. All three of them were pretty good. It was a good sign.”
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Left-hander Tyler Alexander tossed the final two innings. He struck out one batter, worked around one walk and threw 20 of 30 pitches for strikes.
The Orioles, meanwhile, picked up a combined 2⅔ scoreless innings from two of their relievers.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.