Orioles' Seven-Game Winning Streak Ended With Loss To Tigers
BALTIMORE -- In a season where little has gone their way, the Detroit Tigers hope they finally got the spark that gets them back on track.
J.D Martinez and Miguel Cabrera hit back-to-back home runs off Baltimore reliever Darren O'Day in the eighth inning as the Tigers avoided a four-game sweep by the Orioles with a 6-5 victory Sunday.
Detroit won for just the second time in 13 games and snapped Baltimore's seven-game winning streak.
"It was just a big win all the way around," Martinez said. "We just kept battling and finally got some things to go our way. Hopefully, it will be a big momentum boost to the team."
O'Day (2-1) thought he had struck Martinez out but first base umpire Mark Wegner ruled a check swing. Martinez then launched the next pitch over the center field fence before Cabrera followed with another shot to almost the same spot.
"It was a good pitch," O'Day said. "I tried to get him to swing at it and I did. Mark Wegner absolutely embarrassed himself. I have a great relationship with a lot of umpires. Some I consider friends. They have a tough job. It's a judgment call. But that was pretty egregious."
Warwick Saupold (1-0), who was called up Friday from Triple-A Toledo, picked up the win with 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Francisco Rodriguez notched his ninth save.
"That's how good teams come back," Rodriguez said. "Hopefully, we can take advantage."
Ian Kinsler went 2-for-4, including his seventh homer of the season for Detroit.
The Orioles fell 18-7 in games where they homered. Baltimore fell short of tying its longest winning streak since 2005.
"The pitching has been solid," Orioles manager Buck Showater said. "That's the thing that's going to allow us to maintain the level we're going to have to have to compete in our division. You have to take care of your own business every night and not expect any help from anybody. But the pitching has been as good as I could hope for it to be so far."
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead off Kevin Gausman in the first when Kinsler led off with a double and then scored on a single by Cabrera. Baltimore stormed back in the bottom half of inning. Adam Jones tied the game on a double that sailed just over the head of 6-foot-7 left fielder Steve Moya and Jonathan Schoop knocked in two more with a bases-loaded single.
Baltimore hadn't scored before the sixth inning in the first three games of the series.
A triple by Moya pulled Detroit to within 3-2 in the second. After getting two outs, Gausman hit Kinsler and walked J.D. Martinez to load the bases before Cabrera flied out to left.
Gausman loaded the bases again with one out in the third, but he escaped again with a soft liner and grounder. Kinsler, however, tied the game with a leadoff homer in the fourth.
"Obviously, not one of my best outings, but just tried to grind," Gausman said. "It seemed like every inning I had guys on base, pitching out of the stretch a lot. My command definitely wasn't what it usually is."
After right fielder Joey Rickard allowed Justin Upton to reach second when he lost a pop-up in the sun, the Tigers took a 4-3 lead two batters later on an RBI single by James McCann in the fifth.
"I put the ball in play and I got rewarded," Upton said. "Nobody feels sorry for us and we don't feel sorry for ourselves. We have to go out there and get wins."
Manny Machado then hit a towering two-run homer off rookie Michael Fulmer over the center field fence to give the Orioles the lead in the bottom half of the inning.
"I think it was well-established we needed a win," Ausmus said. "We saw good things from some hitters who have been struggling a little bit."
