The Baltimore Orioles went 5-2 on their latest home stand and continue to remain in the hunt for an American League Wild Card spot but winning the AL East is becoming a real long shot with them close to double digits behind the Boston Red Sox.
After sweeping three from the Kansas City Royals the Birds split a four game set with the Detroit Tigers.
At (55-56) the Orioles stand 2.5 games behind the Royals for the second AL WC berth. Meanwhile, the Tigers at (51-59) are six games back in the WC race.
The Tigers won the first two games and the Birds the last two, 5-2 and the series finale, 12-3.
Third basemen Manny Machado was the hero at the plate for Baltimore going four for five and driving in a season-high five RBIs. He was a triple away from the cycle.
After struggling to find his stroke in the first half of the season, Machado is now batting .257 with 20 homers and 61 RBIs.
The tone was set in the first inning as the Birds went back-to-back-to-back with homers by Jonathan Schoop (25) Chris Davis (18) and Trey Mancini (18).
Mancini is on pace to hit 20 homers and the last rookie to do that was named Ripken.
Schoop leads the team in homers and is in the top five in the AL with 82 RBIs.
It was 8-0 after four innings when outfielder Joey Rickard, who went four for four, added a homerun in the fourth and Baltimore scored four in the eighth to secure the win.
Meanwhile, Baltimore starter Ulbaldo Jimenez ( 5-7, 6.31 ERA) allowed nine hits, struck out six and walked three while giving up one run in 5.2 innings of work.
The bullpen allowed two runs in the ninth but that was as close as the Tigers would get and next the Birds are flying West on a winning note as the take on the Angels, A’s and Mariners.
