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Manager Ron Gardenhire called it a punch in the gut. The staggering Detroit Tigers now have to find a way to recover quickly and end their six-game losing streak.

Nicholas Castellanos‘ three-run homer gave Detroit a 4-1 lead against the Oakland A’s on Monday , but the bullpen couldn’t hold it. Oakland finished off the rally with Jed Lowrie’s solo homer in the ninth inning against Tigers closer Shane Greene.

The teams match up again on Tuesday night.

The Tigers’ slide began during a two-game series in Cincinnati. They were outscored 26-3 while getting swept in a three-game series at Cleveland before Monday’s late collapse.

“We all knew this was going to be a work in progress,” Gardenhire said. “You’re going to go through some ups and downs.

“Believe me, these (ones) are getting kicked in the gut right here because we really worked at it today and we had a lot of good moments. We didn’t have too many in Cleveland. These are the ones the challenge you. These guys will learn from this and we’ll get better from it, I hope, but it doesn’t make us feel any better today. We’ll come back and regroup tomorrow.”

For the most part, the back end of Detroit’s bullpen has been reliable. Main setup man Joe Jimenez hadn’t given up a run in nine one-inning appearances this month before allowing three in the eighth. Greene hadn’t given up a run in 10 of his previous 11 outings.

“That hadn’t happened in a long time,” Gardenhire said, referring to Jimenez’s outing. “Probably early in the season was the last time he’s done anything like that and kind of had to fight it a little bit. Who knows? Maybe it’s because they haven’t been pitching enough lately. We went through a stretch where we didn’t use those guys four or five days and maybe that’s it, a little rusty.”

Oakland’s power display continued as Stephen Piscotty homered earlier in the game. The A’s have now homered in 26 straight road games , a major league record.

Frankie Montas, who has been Oakland’s most effective starter for the past month, will oppose Blaine Hardy in the second game of the four-game series.

Montas (4-1, 2.41 ERA) has produced four quality starts in five outings since being recalled from Triple-A Nashville in late May. He has allowed just one run in 14 2/3 innings in two road starts, including his last appearance at San Diego on Wednesday.

The Padres only managed one run with five hits in 6 2/3 innings and Montas had six strikeouts.

He’s 1-2 with a 7.88 ERA in three career outings against Detroit, including two starts.

Hardy (3-1, 3.30 ERA) jumped into the Detroit rotation when Jordan Zimmermann and Francisco Liriano were on the disabled list. With both of those veterans back, Hardy is now part of temporary six-man rotation.

He made six consecutive starts and allowed two or fewer runs in five of them before a relief appearance in Cincinnati on Wednesday. He faced four batters against the Reds and recorded only one out.

Hardy has made 10 career relief appearances against the A’s, posting a 1-0 record and a 1.74 ERA.

WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals will look to continue their domination of the Baltimore Orioles when they play the penultimate game of this season’s Beltway Series Wednesday night at Nationals Park.

Trea Turner went 4-for-4 with a homer , and Anthony Rendon drove in three runs as the Nationals rallied for a 9-7 win on Tuesday night. Washington has won six straight over Baltimore, including all four games this season.

Washington trailed 4-1 entering the fifth inning. Baltimore loaded the bases but scored only one run, that coming on Manny Machado’s double-play grounder. The Nationals loaded the bases and tied it with a four-run fifth and then won it with four in the seventh as Rendon’s two-run double put them ahead.

“This team is starting to become relentless and when you start doing that you put up runs late and that’s a good sign,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said after his team collected 14 hits. “They kept pounding and pounding and pounding, had a couple of big innings there and scored some runs.”

Adam Eaton had two hits and two RBIs for the Nationals (39-32), who have outscored the Orioles by a combined 20-9.

Turner, moved down to the sixth spot in the lineup Tuesday night, homered in the second inning, added a pair of singles and ended his night with a double in the seventh.

“I feel like I’ve been getting decent pitches to hit , just fouling them off or missing them and today it kind of clicked for me,” he said. “I’ve been trying to make some adjustments and felt better.”

Baltimore (20-51) got two-run homers from Jace Peterson and Trey Mancini, and a solo shot from Joey Rickard.

“There were a lot of good at-bats and walks and we didn’t get too overanxious against their first pitcher, but we just weren’t able to stem the tide,” manager Buck Showalter said after the Orioles lost for the 17th time in 20 games.

Washington’s Gio Gonzalez (6-3, 3.01 ERA) opposes Andrew Cashner (2-8, 4.98) in the middle game of the three-game set.

After a solid first two months of the season, Gonzalez has slipped in June. In his last three starts he has given up 12 runs and 20 hits over 16 1/3 innings (6.61 ERA), though Washington won two of the three.

In his last start , he allowed five runs on nine hits over six-plus innings in a loss to Toronto. He allowed two home runs after giving up just five in his previous 13 starts this season.

Gonzalez is 2-6 with a 3.90 ERA in 11 career starts versus the Orioles, though he pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a 6-0 win over Baltimore on May 28.

Manny Machado is 5-for-16 against Gonzalez, while Adam Jones is 7-for-32 and Mark Trumbo 4-for-20.

Cashner will be activated off the disabled list after missing 10 days due to lower back soreness. The 31-year-old right-hander will be looking to end a personal three-game losing streak, during which the Orioles have scored a total of three runs.

Last time out, Cashner gave up three runs on nine hits over six innings in a 5-1 loss at Toronto.

Cashner is 3-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 13 career games (eight starts) versus Washington.

Daniel Murphy is 6-for-12 against Cashner, Bryce Harper is 5-for-11, and Anthony Rendon is 5-for-12 with a homer.

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