Tigers second baseman Harold Castro is unable to make a diving catch in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles Saturday in Detroit. (AP photo)

DETROIT (AP) — In the big picture, the Detroit Tigers are helping themselves with a bad finish to a terrible season.

Edwin Jackson allowed five runs in five innings, and the Tigers took control of the race for the top pick in next June’s amateur draft with an 8-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.

Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire isn’t looking at the grand scheme,

“This is a young, tired baseball team that has played a lot of games without much time off, and we’ve got a few more days before we get a day off,” Gardenhire said. “That’s not an excuse, though. We didn’t play well today. We need to be better tomorrow.”

Detroit (44-104) has lost two of the first three games of the four-game series against the Orioles (49-100), opening a 4 1/2-game advantage for the worst record in the major leagues. Any combination of 10 Tigers losses and Orioles wins would clinch the top pick for Detroit in a draft highlighted by Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson and Georgia pitcher Emerson Hancock.

Tigers 8, Orioles 4

On Saturday, Victor Reyes hit a tying home run with two outs in the ninth inning and John Hicks had the game-winning grand slam in the 12th to lift Detroit.

The loss gave Baltimore its second straight 100-loss season after the Orioles finished 47-115 a year ago.

Hicks’ blast to the bullpen in left field came off Ryan Eades (0-1) on a 2-2 count, and was his 12th of the season.

Harold Castro earned a lead-off walk in the 12th, and Travis Demeritte doubled with one out to put two runners in scoring position. After Dawel Lugo was intentionally walked, Eades walked Brandon Dixon on four pitches to tie the game, setting up Hicks’ slam.

Reyes hit his towering home run to right field off Baltimore closer Mychal Givens, who had worked nine straight scoreless appearances.

One inning earlier, Trey Mancini took rookie reliever Bryan Garcia deep for a two-out, three-run shot to put Baltimore up 3-2.