DETROIT — Spencer Torkelson has done damage to pitchers of either hand this season, so it’s not a favorable matchup for anyone. Still, the Detroit Tigers first baseman entered the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader with a 1.028 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, and he needed to see only one pitch from another southpaw to elevate that.

Left-hander Cionel Pérez, who struck out three of the four batters he faced prior to Torkelson, remained in. He grooved a belt-high sinker to Torkelson. The ball sailed to deep center field, and the Tigers took a decisive lead in their 4-3 win over Baltimore at Comerica Park.

The situation was made more difficult by the fact there’s a second game with which to contend Saturday night. The longer Pérez could work, the better rested the bullpen would be behind right-hander Charlie Morton in the nightcap.

But the gamble didn’t work. Torkelson, whose career OPS against lefties is 100 percentage points higher than it is against righties, dropped Baltimore’s chances of a comeback. The Orioles were unproductive with runners in scoring position for much of the game; a two-run deficit proved too much, even with Ramón Urías’ solo homer in the eighth.

“With us being down, I’m not going to go to a few guys there in the bullpen,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “So we’re down a run. He punches out [Riley] Greene. I got [Matt] Bowman ready in case they pinch-hit Andy Ibáñez if Torkelson gets on base. And unfortunately, he [Torkelson] hits the ball out of the ballpark. Just unlucky, again.”

The Orioles weathered an uneven start from right-hander Brandon Young, but after the team hit 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, a questionable bullpen decision loomed large. Bowman, a right-hander, was warm in the bullpen. The homer against Pérez brought his season ERA to 10.80, and it rendered Urías’ round-tripper a consolation shot.

Much of Baltimore’s offense came from three players, although there were hard-hit balls from much of the order. Urías, Jordan Westburg and Ryan O’Hearn each notched three hits. The rest of the lineup struggled to find grass against right-hander Casey Mize and the Tigers relievers who followed.

“[Ramón] Laureano almost went deep. [Ryan] Mountcastle almost went deep. Jackson [Holliday] almost went deep,” Hyde said. “We’re just a few inches away from that game being totally different.”

Still, the production for Urías and Westburg was especially impressive. The long ball from Urías raised his average to .340 with an .837 OPS. Westburg has left behind his 0-for-30 slump by recording eight hits in his last 21 at-bats.

They worked the Orioles back into the game following two early runs against Young.

Young boasted a strong history of commanding the strike zone while in the minors. Last year, he posted a 3.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio between Double-A and Triple-A, but in the first two innings in Detroit, Young sprayed the ball around. He suffered from a tight strike zone at times — hardly unique for a young starter — but in the second inning, especially, Young’s command left him.

He walked five batters in the first two frames, second only to the career-high six he allowed in 3 1/3 innings for High-A Aberdeen on Sept. 8, 2021.

“Can’t walk five guys,” said Young, who was optioned to the minors after his start. “I noticed that in the box score. But overall it’s tough. I’m going to learn from it, but I made some competitive pitches and I kept the team a chance to win today.”

Added Hyde: “His misses were really close. I thought he got squeezed a little bit. But I thought he had good stuff.”

Young held the Tigers to two runs in the second. Javier Báez drove an RBI double and Gleyber Torres lofted a sacrifice fly. By limiting damage there, Young had the chance to turn around his outing. The Orioles needed it.

Young allowed one baserunner across the third and fourth innings. And, after needing 53 pitches in the first two frames, he required 27 for the next two. The recovery allowed Young to complete 4 2/3 innings — although a third run scored against Young when right-hander Bryan Baker allowed an RBI single before ending the fifth.

Young was at 95 pitches, and he had already walked Jace Jung earlier in the game. In his second career start, the leash for Young was tight. But the outcome — an inherited runner scoring — drew attention to Hyde’s decision to pull Young at that point.

The history was on Baker’s side, though. Baker entered the outing with an 8-for-8 record in stranding inherited runners this season.

“Bake, who’s been so good for us, just gives up one with an end-of-bat single, unfortunately,” Hyde said.

More attention went to the choice to leave Pérez in the game against Torkelson. There were no easy decisions, not in the first game of a doubleheader. But they played a role in a loss, anyway, along with an offense that again struggled to plate runners.

This article has been updated.