Delmon Young leads Baltimore to come-from-behind win
By Jake Misener
Game Two of the American League Division Series between the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers Friday afternoon had a sense of deja vu, as for the second straight game, the Baltimore offense poured it on in the eighth inning, this time scoring four runs to come-from-behind for a 7-6 win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Pinch-hitter Delmon Young proved to be the difference in the contest, stepping up to the dish with one out and the Orioles trailing, 6-4. Young then took a Joakim Soria pitch, driving it into left field –clearing the bases and giving the Orioles a 7-6 advantage. Zach Britton entered in the top of the ninth, closing things out and giving Baltimore a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, which now shifts to Detroit.
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The bottom of the eighth opened with Baltimore trailing 6-3. First-year Tigers manager Brad Ausmus turned things over to Joba Chamberlain, who set down Alejandro De Aza for the first out of the inning before hitting Adam Jones with a pitch. Back-to-back singles by Nelson Cruz and Steve Pearce plated Jones, putting runners at first and second with still just one out. That spelled the end of Chamberlain’s outing, and Ausmus turned things over to Joakim Soria.
The former Texas Rangers reliever, who was a late season acquisition for Detroit, imploded again following a walk to J.J. Hardy. With the bags full, Young came through, clearing the pond and spelling doom for the American League Central champs.
Baltimore opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, when Nick Markakis took Tigers starter Justin Verlander deep for a two-run home run. The former AL Cy Young Award winner allowed three earned on six hits in just five innings of work, racking up 101 pitches in the process. Anibal Sanchez came on in relief of the right-hander, tossing two perfect innings before turning things over to Chamberlain and Soria.
Detroit answered back in the top of the fourth, scoring five runs. Victor Martinez plated Torii Hunter with an RBI single before J.D. Martinez clubbed a three-run home run to make it a 4-2 Tigers lead. The next batter, J.D. Martinez, followed with a solo blast of his own – marking the second straight day Detroit went back-to-back.
Hardy singled in the bottom of the inning to pull Baltimore within two at 5-3, but Victor Martinez doubled to score Hunter in the eighth, adding an insurance run, extending the Detroit lead to 6-3.
Baltimore starter Wei-Yin Chen suffered a rough outing, lasting just 3 2/3 innings in which he allowed five runs on seven hits – including the two home runs, but Kevin Gausman came on, allowing just one run in 3 2/3 frames of his own, striking out five and walking one in relief of the Orioles left-hander.