It was supposed to be the day the Orioles blew a sigh of relief.

Jordan Westburg, considered one of the team’s most consistent hitters and defenders, was reinstated from the injured list Tuesday and back in the lineup for the first time since April 26. Cedric Mullins, their strongest defender and home run leader, was also activated after two weeks away. There are more hitters out — Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sánchez and, as of Tuesday night, Jorge Mateo — but the return of Westburg and Mullins, coupled with Colton Cowser and Ramón Laureano last week, was expected to be a turning point.

Instead, it was another reminder of how far this team still has to go to climb out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves. The Orioles had only six hits in a 5-3 loss to the Tigers to kick off the three-game series.

They got on the board early with a run in the third. Jackson Holliday hit a single, stole second and then scored on a Gunnar Henderson single. But they would not get any momentum again until the eighth. Holliday kicked if off with a double, then advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly from Adley Rutschman.

Baltimore would have a chance to tie it later in the inning, as Henderson doubled and Laureano walked with two outs. Ryan O’Hearn, who has been one of their most clutch hitters this season, was at the plate and quickly went up 3-0 in the count. A borderline call was made for strike one instead of ball four, extending the at-bat, and O’Hearn would go on to strike out, ending the Orioles’ chance.

In the ninth, Westburg hit a home run — his first hit in his first game back — to put the Orioles within two, but that would be all they would be able to produce as Mullins struck out to end the game.

“We had a pretty good chance to load the bases right there, didn’t happen,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “And then in the ninth inning against [Will] Vest — who’s probably one of the better guys in the business right now, as consistent as anybody — I thought we put up good at-bats against him. I think as the lineup is healthy, which it is right now and getting healthier, I think there’s a lot of confidence that we’ll start to string together more at-bats.”

Cade Povich’s performance was a reminder, too, of all the pitchers this team is still missing. He earned his spot in the rotation out of spring training only out of necessity — Grayson Rodriguez went on the injured list for what was expected to be a short stint but instead has turned into an extended stay as he’s battled lat, elbow and shoulder injuries. Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish, both recovering from elbow surgery, are throwing bullpens but not close to a return yet.

While Povich has shown flashes, like his last start in the Orioles’ 3-2 win over the Mariners, when he allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings, Tuesday wasn’t as strong. He allowed a run in both the second and fourth innings, then things cascaded in the fifth. With two outs and no one on base, the next four Tigers hitters proceeded to hit for the cycle — hitting a double, single, home run and triple in succession — to tack on three runs and end Povich’s day.

“Apparently not making good enough pitches,” a visibly frustrated Povich said when asked about the fifth inning. “I don’t know. It’s soft is what it is.”

The lefty failed to complete five innings for the sixth time in 12 starts, again having trouble getting through the order for a third time.

“My guess is probably just experience at this point,” Mansolino said. “It’s hard for me to know the exact specifics of every individual pitcher, him included. That’s probably a better question for our pitching staff. But I think more than likely just continuing to get thrown out there and continuing to do it. I think if we do it and he understands and feels our confidence in him, hopefully he gets a little bit more consistent and has more outings like the Seattle one.”

The Orioles were able to finish the game with only three relievers as Seranthony Domínguez, Yennier Cano and Scott Blewett combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings.