ALDS Game 2: Orioles get comeback win after Tigers’ bullpen collapses again
Once again, the Detroit Tigers bullpen doomed them. The Tigers couldn’t hold on to a 6-3 lead in the eighth inning, as Delmon Young’s pinch-hit three-run double gave the Baltimore Orioles a 7-6 win and a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
The Tigers hit the ball well in Game 2 of the ALDS, scoring five runs in the fourth inning, but their Achilles’ heel showed itself in the eighth as relievers Joba Chamberlain and Joakim Soria couldn’t protect the lead. The loss is crushing for the Tigers, who now face an elimination game Sunday. They’ll have David Price on the mound in Detroit, trying to stave off the Orioles.
• Obviously, Delmon Young. He came off the bench as a pinch hitter, stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and smacked the first pitch he saw into the left-field corner for a three-run double. For as much as people on the Internet like to make fun of Delmon Young, he’s been effective in the postseason throughout his career. He’s hit nine homers and now has 21 postseason RBIs.
• Tiger-killer Nelson Cruz had two more hits Friday, and they came in big spots. The first one knocked out Detroit starter Justin Verlander in the sixth inning. Cruz’s single in the eighth started the Orioles’ four-run rally.
• Kevin Gausman and Anibal Sanchez. Different teams, but similar situations. Both Gausman and Sanchez are starting pitchers called upon to help out of the bullpen. Gausman relieved starter Wei-Yin Chen in the fourth inning and gave the Orioles three solid innings before the Tigers got to him for a run in the eighth. It was quite a showing for Gausman, who was throwing in the high 90s and struck out five.
The Tigers needed Sanchez after Verlander was pulled in the sixth inning. Detroit’s bullpen, of course, is a mess, so anything Sanchez could do to actually give the Tigers relief would be a big help. He threw two pristine innings, not allowing a hit and striking out two. Maybe the Tigers should have kept him in.
• The slugging Martinezes. Victor and J.D. Martinez hit back-to-back homers in Game 1. In Game 2, they were hitting good again. Down 2-0 in the fourth inning, Victor Martinez got the Tigers on the board with an RBI single. J.D. Martinez followed with a three-run homer that put the Tigers up 4-2. In the eighth inning, Victor Martinez got the Tigers an insurance run with an RBI double to center.
• Stop us if you’ve heard this one before — the Tigers bullpen. Joba Chamberlain and Joakim Soria gave up three hits and four runs during another nightmare eighth inning. Orioles fans at Camden Yards practically expected this to happen. When Chamberlain came to the mound in the eighth, he got a standing ovation from the Baltimore faithful. Chamberlain’s ERA in the series is 108.00. Ouch.
• As Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen also learned, one nasty inning can make you forget about three good ones. Chen got abused by the Tigers’ big bats in the fourth inning. Before that, he had only given up one hit. The Tigers hung six hits and five runs on Chen in the fourth, including a 10-pitch span in which five runs scored and the Tigers hit back-to-back homers.
We know the big play, Young’s bases clearing double. But within that, there were even a few key moments — Martinez briefly bobbled the ball in left field, which gave J.J. Hardy an extra split second to cross the plate with the go-ahead run. It was a close play at the plate, and Hardy just beat the throw.
Back-to-back homers in Game 1 and Game 2, give the Tigers this place in history:
• The Tigers’ horrible eighth innings. They gave up eight runs in the eighth inning of Game 1, and now this in Game 2? Ick.
• Can David Price save the Tigers from elimination? He was their big acquisition in July, but so far the Tigers have needed him in situations not many people expected them to be in— like clinching the AL Central on the last day of the season, and now down 0-2 in the ALDS.
• The Orioles’ ability to get things done. We’ve heard about how their lineup can hurt opponents from top to bottom, and they proved it in Game 2. Seven out of their nine starters had a hit and a guy off their bench had the biggest hit of the day.
The series heads to Detroit for a possible Game 3 clincher. It’s happening Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Tigers will depend on Price (15-12, 3.26) while the Orioles counter with Miguel Gonzalez (10-9, 3.23).
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
