BALTIMORE (AP) – The Baltimore Orioles once again battered Detroit’s shaky bullpen and pushed the Tigers to the brink of playoff elimination.
Pinch-hitter Delmon Young delivered another big postseason hit, lining a three-run double during a four-run rally in the eighth inning that sent the Orioles over the Tigers 7-6 Friday for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five AL Division Series.
J.J. Hardy made a nifty slide home, touching the plate with his hand barely ahead of the tag, for the go-ahead run. A Camden Yards crowd that saw the O’s fall behind Justin Verlander 5-2 in the early going erupted in an orange wave.
Now Baltimore will try for a sweep in Game 3 Sunday at Detroit, when Miguel Gonzalez starts against the Tigers’ third straight Cy Young winner in David Price.
A day after the Orioles battered Detroit relievers while scoring eight runs in the eighth for a 12-3 win, they came back from a three-run deficit.