Baltimore Orioles’ Nelson Cruz (23) celebrates with Adam Jones after Cruz hit a two-run home run during their Game 3 of baseball’s AL Division Series against the Detroit Tigers Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014, in Detroit.DETROIT – Nelson Cruz sliced a two-run homer for his latest big postseason hit, and the Baltimore Orioles swept aside Detroit’s Cy Young Award winners to hold off the Tigers 2-1 Sunday and reach the AL Championship Series for the first time since 1997.
Bud Norris outpitched David Price in Game 3 of the AL Division Series. The Tigers scored in the ninth and put the tying run on second with no outs, but Orioles closer Zach Britton escaped the jam and lifted Buck Showalter into his first ALCS in 16 seasons as a big league manager.
Cruz’s homer was the 16th of his postseason career, including eight against the Tigers. He was the MVP of the 2011 ALCS for Texas in a six-game victory over Detroit.
Cruz spent much of this past offseason without a team after serving a 50-game suspension last year for violating baseball’s drug agreement.