Luke Scott continued his power surge and highly touted prospect Matt Wieters delivered his first two hits in the majors, but the Baltimore Orioles still saw their longest winning streak in more than a year come to an end.
Based on their recent play on Sundays, bouncing back could be a challenge.
The Orioles look to rebound from their first loss in six games and avoid another Sunday defeat when they close a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers at Camden Yards.
Baltimore (23-27) opened a seven-game homestand with its first five-game winning streak of the year. Scott missed the first two games of that run because of a shoulder injury, but he returned and hit five home runs while collecting 12 RBIs over the next three victories.
Scott's hot streak continued when he hit a two-run shot deep to right field Saturday night, and Wieters added a double and a triple in his second career game in the majors. But the Orioles' run was snapped with a 6-3 loss to the Tigers (27-21).
"There's a lot of real positives in the ballgame tonight," manager Dave Trembley told the Orioles' official Web site. "We just came up short. They got outs, and we didn't. That's just the way the game goes."
To start a new winning streak in the series finale, the Orioles will have to overcome a dismal record on Sundays. They've lost 27 of their last 30 Sunday games dating to last season, including six of seven this year. They've been outscored 42-27 on Sundays in 2009.
Though Baltimore won the last game of a three-game set against Toronto on Wednesday, it's 3-13 in series finales this year.
The Orioles will try to improve on that record against a Tigers team that got two homers from Clete Thomas on Saturday. The outfielder, who spent three seasons in the minors before making his major league debut last season, couldn't remember ever hitting two homers in one game.
"I don't think I've ever done it in professional ball," said Thomas, who also hit an RBI double Saturday. "It's there. It's just a matter of getting it to show up. It showed up tonight."
The Tigers will try to build on that win with Edwin Jackson (4-3, 2.58 ERA) on the mound. The right-hander, who ranks among the league leaders in ERA, had a three-start winning streak snapped with a 6-1 loss at Kansas City on Tuesday. He gave up four runs -- two earned -- over 6 1-3 innings.
Jackson is 2-1 with an 8.31 ERA in five games -- three starts -- against the Orioles. Scott is 2 for 6 with a homer and a double lifetime against him, but might not get many pitches to hit Sunday.
"I won't be pitching to him with an open base," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He's really in a groove."
The Orioles will hand the ball to Jason Berken (1-0, 3.60), hoping he can duplicate his performance from his major league debut Tuesday. The right-hander held Toronto to two runs over five innings of a 7-2 victory.
"The most important thing was his poise," Trembley said. "We've had guys before come up and they've had just as good of stuff. But there's more to it than just having stuff and having tools. It's the ability to focus, the ability to not get out of control, stay in your lane, looking like you fit."