DETROIT — Attention focuses on situations with runners in scoring position because of the tantalizing proximity of a runner on third to home. And the recent production for the Orioles with runners on second and third has been paltry — to an extreme.

These last seven games, the Orioles are hitting 6-for-60 with runners in scoring position.

But that is really only an extension of the overall problems for Baltimore at the plate this season. That is, hitting in clutch situations and hitting in general are tightly linked, and the Orioles aren’t performing well in either.

After Sunday’s game, a 7-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers that secured the Orioles a 10-17 record with six losses in their last seven games, infielder Ramón Urías pointed out as much.

“I think it’s just the offense overall,” Urías said. “I don’t think it’s just with runners in scoring position. I think we have to battle the three or four at-bats that we have. It doesn’t matter if we’re hitting with runners in scoring position or not.”

Of course, what Urías meant was that Baltimore’s inconsistent hitting in any situation makes the lack of hitting with runners in scoring position not a novel proposition. This season, the Orioles are hitting .201 with runners in scoring position and .223 overall. Both figures are 26th out of 30 major league teams.

The results stand in stark contrast to 2023 and, to a lesser extent, last season. When the Orioles won 101 games in their breakout 2023 campaign, they were one of the top offensive team in the majors. It was especially noticeable in prime run-scoring opportunities.

With runners in scoring position two years ago, Baltimore ranked first in average (.287) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.836).

Even last year, when a second-half slump sapped life from the club and resulted in a second straight postseason sweep, the numbers were manageable. With runners in scoring position, Baltimore hit .251 (17th) with a .741 OPS (16th).

It’s hard to pinpoint one reason the Orioles have struggled in that area this season, because the overall hitting is hardly much better.

“Whenever you think about it and really try to do that, you end up not having a lot of success in that situation,” infielder Gunnar Henderson said. “You’ve got to go up there and take what the pitcher’s giving you. If they’re trying to work around you, then take your walk. And, if you get a good pitch to hit, then put a good swing on it and don’t try to hit a 500-foot home run.”

Added manager Brandon Hyde: “I think it’s different in every single case. I think some guys are a little passive, some guys are trying to do too much. Some guys are staying on the ball; some guys are not. It’s a little bit of case-by-case basis, and I think if we get a little momentum — which we have not had at all this year — a little bit of momentum, where guys are doing good things, they’ll start feeling a little bit better about their at-bats.”

But it’s also worth noting the Orioles’ walk rates each of the last three seasons: 8.4% (2023), 7.9% (2024) and 8.1% (2025). Each is below average. When an offense is reliant on hits to reach base, it is more susceptible to slumps.

Part of it, of course, is poor luck. Henderson, for instance, entered Sunday tied for second in the majors for the hardest average exit velocity (95.9 mph). But he has a .220 average and .634 OPS because many of his hard hits have found gloves.

Ahead of Sunday’s game, the Orioles’ expected weighted on-base average, according to Statcast, was .333 — the sixth-best mark in the majors. Their actual WOBA was .305. And, over the course of a season, the luck factor tends to work itself out.

At this point, though, the Orioles’ issues with runners in scoring position go hand in hand with their general problems on offense. And they’re compounded by poor starting pitching, which often leaves Baltimore in a hole early.

The Orioles know all this. When Henderson struck out to strand a runner at third base Sunday, he kicked the end of his bat in frustration on his way to the dugout. For all the success of 2023 and 2024, the first month of 2025 has been a sucker punch of sorts. How will they get out if it, then? And can they?

“I think it’s going to take every single player on this team,” Urías said. “I mean, we are the only ones that can make it turn around, and we’ve got to work on that.”