Tigers' losing skid hits 7 games, drop opener in Baltimore

Baltimore – You pitch well and don’t hit. You hit well but can’t pitch or defend well enough to hold a lead. This is what a bad baseball stretch looks like and the Tigers can’t seem to shake it.

Not even against a team that’s struggled as badly as they have. More: Detroit Tigers, Game 52: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't The Baltimore Orioles prolonged the Tigers’ misery with a 7-4 win on a rainy Friday night at Camden Yards. It was the Tigers’ seventh straight loss.

They are 2-15 in their last 17 games and are now 12 games under . 500 (20-32). It rained steadily throughout the game, gaining intensity starting in the fourth.

There was some urgency to get the game in because the forecast for Saturday was even worse. But there comes a point where player safety becomes an issue. Case in point: On a night when the Tigers already placed one reliever on the injured list (Burch Smith, shoulder inflammation), lefty Brant Hurter left the game in the fifth inning after he seemingly slipped on the wet mound.