In our first ALDS series opener between the Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles, the O's emerged victorious after their offense did just enough against Tigers ace Max Scherzer to bring in Detroit's bullpen, which they beat up on to the tune of eight runs in the bottom of the 8th.
We were treated to three home runs in the first two innings - Nelson Cruz opened the scoring with a bomb to right center, scoring Nick Markakis, but two back-to-back homers from Victor and J.D. Martinez evened things up in the top of the 2nd.
The Orioles built a two-run lead thanks to a Markakis RBI and a 7th-inning J.J. Hardy homer, and then started teeing off in the 8th inning en route to a comfortable victory.
Turning Point: The Tigers were still within striking distance until SS Andrew Romine made a crucial error in the bottom of the 8th, sending home Alejandro De Aza and extending Baltimore's lead to 5-3. The error riled up an already-raucous crowd at Camden Yards, and the Orioles capitalized on the momentum to score seven more runs in the inning.
Orioles MVP: Seven players in the O's starting lineup had at least one RBI, so it's hard to single out one guy...but we'll give the nod to Nelson Cruz in recognition of his three RBI and massive contribution to the Orioles this year. With Chris Davis having a nightmare year, Cruz stepped up in a major way, and he set the tone today with his two-run blast in the first inning.
Tigers MVP: With three players hitting solo shots and a decent-but-not-great start from Max Scherzer, we'll give this one to Victor Martinez, who hit a home run in the 2nd and got a nice outfield assist when he picked off Steve Pearce on his way to second base.
What’s Next? The Orioles have to be heavy favorites at this point, and Detroit did nothing to reassure those who had been questioning their bullpen all year. Game 2 starts at 12:07 PM ET tomorrow at Camden Yards.
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