The Baltimore Orioles returned to work after the All-Star break by taking two of three from the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
After splitting the first two games of the three-game series, Baltimore’s offense went into high gear and beat the Tigers 9-3 in the series finale.
The difference in the game was the six runs the Orioles (46-45) scored in the fourth inning, the most runs they had scored in one inning since June 28th.
The big blow was a three-run homer off the bat of second baseman Jonathan Schoop. The Birds sent 10 men to the plate in the inning and collected seven hits, four with RISP.
That was the difference in the game as the Orioles, who have struggled lately as a team to drive in runs, and were 2-21 with RISP up until this point in the series, went six for 10 with RISP to give their pitcher Miguel Gonzalez a sizeable lead.
A lack of recent run support had led to defeats as this was the first series the Birds had won in July and their first series victory since June 28th.
J.J. Hardy added a two-run double in the fourth as Baltimore closed the inning with a 7-1 lead. Overall offensively, Orioles outfielder Adam Jones went 3-5 including his 15th homer in the first inning. Chris Parmelee went 2-4 with a double and two RBIs.
The Orioles later added two insurance runs in the eighth inning to secure the victory. Gonzalez (8-6, 4.21 ERA) allowed six hits, struck out four and walked two while surrendering two runs in five innings of work.
The bullpen of Roe, Matusz and O’Day allowed eight hits but only one run while striking out four to help preserve the lead.
The first game of the series was a tough outing for Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez who only surrendered eight hits, but three were homers, which led to a 7-3 Detroit victory.
Meanwhile, the Orioles offense out hit the Tigers (45-46) but were a woeful 1-14 with RISP and left 11 men on base.
Jimenez, who was knocked out in the fourth inning, had been one of the Orioles most consistent pitchers in the first half of the season. His record dropped to (7-5) and he now has a 3.29 ERA.
The middle game of the series turned out to be a real pitchers duel which was won, 3-0 by Oriole’s starter Chris Tillman.
He pitched a beautiful one-hitter, striking out eight and retiring the final 23 batters he faced in a powerful Detroit lineup. Orioles closer Zach Britton came on in the ninth inning to get his 24th save of the season.
Tillman has won five in a row and improved to (7-7) with a 4.96 ERA. He overcame a fine pitching performance from Tigers ace David Price who had a season-high 12 strikeouts.
The Orioles only needed Manny Machado’s career-best 20th homer to secure the victory. Birds catcher Caleb Joseph had a crucial hit in the ninth inning which drove in two important insurance runs.
Baltimore finished the series in second place in the tight American League East division race, four games behind the New York Yankees (50-41) who will be their next opponent as they head to Yankee Stadium.
