Depleted Tigers Get 16 Hits And Squeeze Past Orioles 9-8
By DAVID GINSBURG/AP Sports Writer
BALTIMORE (AP) - Yoenis Cespedes homered and drove in three runs, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-8 on Thursday night after shifting into rebuilding mode by trading two of their best pitchers.
Mired in fourth place in the AL Central, Detroit dealt starter David Price to Toronto and closer Joakim Soria to Pittsburgh the day before the non-waiver trade deadline.
General manager Dave Dombrowski conceded, "I would much rather be acquiring than I would be trading. But it's just where we are at this point."
After an active day of dealing, the Tigers kept busy on the bases. Detroit finished with 16 hits, including three apiece by Cespedes, Ian Kinsler and Jose Iglesias.
The Tigers led 7-0 in the fourth inning and 9-2 in the sixth before surviving Baltimore's comeback bid.
Chris Davis homered and had four RBIs, and Adam Jones also went deep for the Orioles, whose five-game winning streak ended. Baltimore gave up only seven runs in those five games.
A two-run single by Davis and an RBI base hit by Matt Wieters made it 9-7 in the seventh, and Baltimore stranded the potential tying run at third in the eighth.
Tigers starter Alfredo Simon (10-6), who came in with a 7.46 ERA in July, allowed four runs and two hits in 5 2-3 innings against the team he pitched for from 2008-11.
Alex Wilson, filling the closer's role after Soria's departure, got four outs for his first save.
Miguel Gonzalez (9-7) allowed five runs and a career-high-tying 10 hits in 3 1-3 innings for Baltimore. He was replaced by Bud Norris, who yielded four runs and six hits over 2 2-3 innings.
Seven of the first nine Detroit batters got hits, but the only damaging blow was a two-run double by J.D. Martinez in the first inning.
The Tigers batted around in a five-run fourth. Rajai Davis tripled in two runs and Kinsler hit an RBI single before Cespedes connected with a man on against Norris.
Jones homered in the bottom half after Nolan Reimold walked. It was Jones' 182nd home run as an Oriole, tied with Ken Singleton for seventh on the team list.
Detroit made it 9-2 in the sixth when Cespedes singled in a run and Martinez added an RBI double.
Davis chased Simon with a two-run drive in the Orioles' half. It was his 25th homer of the season and sixth in nine games.
TRADE WINDS
Tigers: Manager Brad Ausmus said his team would continue its quest to win, but conceded it won't be easy without Price (9-4, 2.53 ERA, 138 strikeouts). "When you lose a pitcher like David Price, you don't generally think you're getting better," Ausmus said.
Orioles: Asked if he expected the Orioles to pull off a trade before Friday afternoon, manager Buck Showalter said, "That's the bet. If you told me to bet on which side of it, I'll take 51-49."
ON DECK
Tigers: RHP Buck Farmer (0-2, 9.22 ERA) seeks his first major league win on Friday night. He has three starts this season - one apiece in May, June and July.
Orioles: LHP Wei-Yin Chen (5-6, 2.88 ERA) makes his 20th start of the season. He leads Baltimore in innings, strikeouts and home runs allowed.
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