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Orioles Rally To Win 'Small Ball' Game Over Tigers

BALTIMORE -- Power carried the Baltimore Orioles several times already this season.

The Orioles did not hit any homers Thursday night, but they simply strung a bunch of hits together over two innings and stunned the Detroit Tigers.

Jonathan Schoop lined a two-run triple to cap a five-run seventh inning, and Baltimore rallied from an early five-run deficit for its fifth consecutive victory, a 7-5 decision over Detroit.

The Orioles showed they can do damage with small ball. They got three hits and two runs in the sixth, then collected four consecutive hits as part of a five-run, six-hit seventh while turning a 5-0 deficit into the 7-5 lead.

Seven of the nine hits in that two-inning stretch were singles. No homers, no problem.

"It was very unusual for us, but I'm proud of the way we've been going about our at-bats and not just giving in or going up there and hacking when we get down," said Chris Davis, who had two run-scoring hits. "We're actually working the count trying to see some pitches and take advantage of it."

Orioles manager Buck Showalter added: "We didn't hit one (homer) tonight, did we? Just grinding through it."

The Tigers took a 5-0 lead, the last two runs coming in the sixth inning thanks to RBI singles from Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, before the Orioles rallied.

Davis (RBI double) and Schoop (RBI infield single) cut the lead to 5-2 in the sixth as Detroit starter Mike Pelfrey began to struggle and then was pulled.

In the seventh, Adam Jones, Davis and Pedro Alvarez all had RBI singles, tying the game at 5-5.

Schoop then followed Alvarez with his line drive into the right field corner for the first triple of his major league career, and the two-run hit off Justin Wilson (0-1) gave Baltimore the victory.

Schoop finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

"It's pretty nice," Schoop said. "I thought it was not going to happen ever (hitting a triple). I was looking to hit the ball hard somewhere. I was looking to get a good pitch to hit and hit the ball hard, and hopefully it'd find a hole -- and it did."

Vance Worley (2-0) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief, and Zach Britton earned his ninth save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Tigers finished with 13 hits but wasted a number of scoring chances. They left 12 on base, which gave the Orioles a chance to stay close. The Detroit bullpen couldn't do the job, allowing five runs on seven hits in just 2 2/3 innings.

"Any time we give up runs, it's tough," Wilson said about the relievers.

Detroit's Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit the only homer of the game, a solo shot in the fourth inning.

The Tigers (15-19) lost for the ninth time in 10 games and for the second game in a row.

Detroit took a 1-0 lead four batters into the game. J.D. Martinez and Cabrera drew back-to-back-one-out walks off Baltimore starter Ubaldo Jimenez before Victor Martinez followed with an RBI single.

The Tigers made it 3-0 with two more runs in the fourth. Saltalamacchia led off by homering to right on a fly ball that curled around the foul pole, and Cabrera later added an RBI grounder.

The Orioles (21-12) were quiet until they threatened in the fifth, putting two on with two outs. Pelfrey then struck out Joey Rickard to end the inning and keep the lead at 3-0.

Pelfrey wound up allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings. Jimenez surrendered five runs (four earned) in five-plus innings, but his teammates rallied and got him off the hook.

For the Tigers, it was just another frustrating game.

"It seems like every day it's something different," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "We had missed opportunities, but we had a lead and didn't hold it. Take your pick."

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